{"closest_prior_art":[{"name":"DOE/NREL pack thermal characterization under vehicle drive cycles","overlap":"Measures temperatures and differences between corresponding cells, uses thermal images to locate hot spots, reports average pack-cell temperature, and evaluates cooling during US06 cycles; it also connects nonuniform exposure to differential aging and feeds results back into pack thermal design.","remaining_difference":"Does not describe the proposal's complete predeclared quantile-and-persistence acceptance rule, variance decomposition, reviewer-gated spatial-cluster escalation, or paired rerun after a reversible branch-level correction.","source_ids":["SRC2"]},{"name":"Battery thermal-management design modeling for cell-to-cell uniformity","overlap":"Treats temperature uniformity within cells and between module cells as a design objective alongside overall thermal regulation, and evaluates air and liquid cooling with hydraulic, pressure-loss, complexity, and cost tradeoffs.","remaining_difference":"It is primarily a design-modeling framework, not the proposed acceptance workflow that retains a valid pack mean while applying persistence-qualified local review.","source_ids":["SRC1"]},{"name":"Cooling-structure analysis of thermally driven cell-to-cell variation","overlap":"Models uneven cooling, cell-temperature distributions, differential degradation, coolant-flow effects, and local cooling-structure alternatives; it expressly argues for controlling variation below an application-specific threshold rather than forcing it to zero.","remaining_difference":"It lacks synchronized acceptance dashboards, predeclared spatial-persistence alerts, uncertainty-qualified sensor checks, and a reviewer-controlled reversible local intervention on the same physical pack.","source_ids":["SRC3"]},{"name":"Spatial cooling and uniformity assessment using localized airflow structures","overlap":"Examines temperatures at different pack and cell locations, compares maximum/minimum temperature and uniformity, and tests local flow-distribution structures such as plenums, jet inlets, and vortex generators.","remaining_difference":"The intervention is a design optimization rather than a gated diagnostic layer that first preserves the pack-average criterion and then authorizes a branch-specific reversible correction only for persistent clusters.","source_ids":["SRC4"]}],"contrastive_claim_falsifier":"The remaining claim would be falsified by evidence that existing pack-validation practice already combines an unchanged, valid pack-average indicator with predeclared magnitude-and-persistence spatial-tail criteria, uncertainty accounting, mandatory local review, and a paired same-cycle rerun after a reversible coolant-branch correction. It would also fail empirically if synchronized measurements show no persistent spatial heterogeneity beyond sensor uncertainty or if the local correction does not improve the flagged trajectories without shifting heat or violating hydraulic limits.","contrastive_claim_remaining":"The broad proposition that acceptable average pack temperature can coexist with consequential cell-level thermal nonuniformity is already well represented. The narrower testable distinction is whether a predeclared persistence-qualified spatial acceptance layer, while explicitly retaining the valid pack-average control metric, can identify an actionable coolant branch and support a reviewer-gated reversible local correction that improves the tail without destabilizing pack regulation or pressure drop.","experiment_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp13_second_slot_policy60_20260806","gates":{"adequate_source_search":{"rationale":"The bounded search covered the proposal directly, historical terminology such as temperature gradients and temperature uniformity, official testing practice, standards-oriented queries, cooling products and architectures, and combinations involving spatial hot spots, cell-to-cell degradation, manifolds, flow resistance, and drive-cycle testing. Four opened sources from three publisher contexts were retained.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"],"status":"PASS"},"bounded_next_test":{"rationale":"A single approved current-limited cycle using existing sensors can test for persistent, uncertainty-exceeding spatial tails without changing hardware or controller logic. Its decision is appropriately limited to whether a controlled repeat and board-approved local-balancing trial are warranted.","source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3"],"status":"PASS"},"distinct_testable_claim":{"rationale":"Although the average-plus-uniformity problem substantially collides with prior art, the joint use of predeclared persistence, spatial clustering, explicit preservation of the macro metric, and a reviewer-gated reversible branch correction remains a narrow falsifiable distinction.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"],"status":"PASS"},"no_obvious_safety_or_authority_stop":{"rationale":"The first step is observational, current-limited, within an approved profile, preserves all trips and interlocks, and reserves modification and release authority to the safety review board. Existing official pack characterization also demonstrates that instrumented drive-cycle thermal measurement is practicable. Any later insert or shim requires separate review because it could relocate heat or increase pressure drop.","source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3"],"status":"PASS"},"supported_problem":{"rationale":"The sources consistently show that uneven cooling creates spatial temperature differences, hot spots, cell-to-cell imbalance, and differential aging, and that average temperature and temperature uniformity are separate concerns. They do not support the stronger implication that average-only acceptance is normal practice; official testing already measures cell differences and spatial hot spots.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"],"status":"PASS"}},"prior_art_disposition":"SUBSTANTIAL_COLLISION","problem_evidence":{"finding":"The physical problem is supported: stable or acceptable central temperature does not establish uniform cell exposure, and uneven coolant or airflow paths can produce spatially structured temperature differences associated with differential performance and aging. The proposed baseline practice is only partly supported because retained official and research sources already treat cell-to-cell temperature difference, spatial hot spots, and temperature uniformity as design or test outputs rather than relying solely on a pack average.","source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"],"status":"PARTLY_SUPPORTED"},"research_id":"eoa_inverse_innovation_exp13_light_screen_20260806","schema_version":1,"screen_id":"E13P121","screen_survival":false,"search_lanes":{"component_combination":{"no_result_note":null,"queries":["battery pack nonuniform temperature distribution local hot spots spatial temperature map coolant flow resistance manifold optimization","battery pack cell temperature distribution spatial nonuniformity coolant flow manifold balancing insert experiment","battery pack thermal validation maximum temperature difference average temperature experiment coolant channels"],"source_ids":["SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"]},"direct_problem_and_intervention":{"no_result_note":null,"queries":["battery pack thermal management average temperature cell temperature difference uniformity acceptance maximum temperature standard duty cycle","battery pack thermal validation cell temperature sensors quantiles persistent hot module coolant branch","battery pack thermal management persistent temperature gradient degradation cell-to-cell experimental pack"],"source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3"]},"products_practices_and_standards":{"no_result_note":null,"queries":["official battery pack validation temperature uniformity maximum cell temperature test procedure","site:energy.gov battery test manual pack thermal performance temperature uniformity cell module temperatures","site:sae.org battery pack thermal management maximum temperature difference validation test standard"],"source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2"]},"synonyms_and_historical_terms":{"no_result_note":null,"queries":["site:nrel.gov battery pack temperature uniformity modules thermal management","battery pack nonuniform temperature distribution local hot spots spatial temperature map coolant flow resistance manifold optimization","battery thermal management temperature uniformity maximum cell temperature difference standard SAE IEC UL"],"source_ids":["SRC1","SRC2","SRC3","SRC4"]}},"sources":[{"claims_supported":["Air and liquid cooling strategies are evaluated at cell and pack levels.","Temperature uniformity inside cells and between cells is a recognized objective distinct from bulk thermal regulation.","Hydraulic diameter, pressure loss, thermal resistance, complexity, and cost constrain cooling interventions."],"publisher":"National Renewable Energy Laboratory / World Electric Vehicle Journal","source_id":"SRC1","source_type":"PRIMARY_RESEARCH","title":"Battery Thermal Management Design Modeling","url":"https://research-hub.nrel.gov/en/publications/battery-thermal-management-design-modeling-3/"},{"claims_supported":["NREL measured cell-to-cell temperature rise and differences in packs under application-relevant drive cycles.","The report presents average pack-cell temperature alongside spatial thermal imaging and identifies local hot spots.","It links unequal cell temperature and energy contribution to differential aging and design-review concerns."],"publisher":"U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy","source_id":"SRC2","source_type":"OFFICIAL_GUIDANCE","title":"FY 2013 Annual Progress Report: Battery Thermal Analysis and Characterization Activities","url":"https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2014/05/f15/APR13_Energy_Storage_e_IV_Battery_Tstg_Design_2.pdf"},{"claims_supported":["Uneven cooling causes nonuniform cell temperatures and contributes to cell-to-cell capacity variation.","Sequential and round coolant structures produce different temperature and degradation outcomes.","Cooling performance, cost, and complexity require threshold-based tradeoffs rather than elimination of all variation."],"publisher":"Applied Energy / Elsevier","source_id":"SRC3","source_type":"PRIMARY_RESEARCH","title":"Progression of Cell-to-Cell Variation Within Battery Modules Under Different Cooling Structures","url":"https://public.websites.umich.edu/~racelab/static/Webpublication/2022-AE-ZYS.pdf"},{"claims_supported":["Temperature measurements at different pack and cell locations reveal nonuniformity not represented by a single central value.","Localized flow-distribution structures can reduce maximum temperature and pack temperature spread.","Spatial cooling improvements must be assessed using both peak temperature and uniformity metrics."],"publisher":"Energies / MDPI","source_id":"SRC4","source_type":"PRIMARY_RESEARCH","title":"Analysis of Cooling Effectiveness and Temperature Uniformity in a Battery Pack for Cylindrical Batteries","url":"https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/8/1157"}],"world_novelty_boundary":"This bounded public-web screen establishes neither world novelty nor patentability. It also cannot establish market size, expert acceptance, realized safety or lifetime value, or whether proprietary OEM validation systems already implement the remaining workflow. The nominal SUBSTANTIAL_COLLISION disposition reflects strong overlap in the visible literature, while the narrower persistence-qualified, reviewer-gated local-correction workflow remains unverified rather than proven novel."}