Patent ID: 10180289

Abstract:
A heat exchanger for cooling batteries in hybrid or electric vehicles includes a plurality of spaced apart, discrete heat exchanger panels, each having a coolant inlet manifold section, a coolant outlet manifold section, and a plurality of coolant flow passages extending between the inlet and outlet manifold sections. The inlet and outlet manifold sections of the discrete panels are connected by tubes to define continuous coolant inlet and outlet manifolds, each having a coolant opening. The flow of coolant through discrete panels may be balanced by providing the fluid flow passages of the panels with various cross-sectional areas and/or hydraulic diameters, depending partly on the proximity of each panel to the coolant opening. In an embodiment, where the panels are formed from pairs of stamped plates, variation of the cross-sectional area and/or hydraulic diameter of the coolant flow passages may be achieved by deliberately offsetting the plates during assembly.