Battery cell arrangement and heat transfer fluid effects on the parasitic power consumption and the cell temperature distribution in a hybrid electric vehicle

• Published in: Journal of power sources Vol. 227; pp. 191 - 198
• Main Authors: Park, Sungjin, Jung, Dohoy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.04.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Air type; Applied sciences; Battery cell arrangement; Battery thermal management system; Cooling systems; Direct energy conversion and energy accumulation; Electric batteries; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Electrical power engineering; Electrochemical conversion: primary and secondary batteries, fuel cells; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid flow; Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction; Heat transfer; Hybrid electric vehicle; Liquid type; Liquids; Mathematical models; Modules; Numerical modeling; Power consumption; Road transportation and traffic; Theoretical studies. Data and constants. Metering; Numerical modeling; Liquid type; Hybrid electric vehicle; Battery cell arrangement; Air type; Battery thermal management system; Performance evaluation; Hybrid electric powered vehicles; Electric vehicle; Numerical method; Electric power consumption; Thermal conduction; Temperature distribution; Hybrid vehicle; Cooling; System design; Secondary cell; Cylindrical shape; Operating conditions; One dimensional model; Cooling system; Thermal fluid; Numerical simulation; Comparative study; Temperature fluctuation; Heat transfer; Finite difference method
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.11.039
• ISSN: 0378-7753

Computationally efficient numerical models of battery cooling systems are developed and the effects of the battery cell arrangement and the heat transfer fluid (HTF) type on the cooling performance and the parasitic power consumption of the system are investigated. A one-dimensional heat conduction model of a cylindrical battery cell is developed using a finite difference method for the cell temperature prediction and a battery module model is developed to predict the cell to cell temperature variation and the power consumption of the systems depending on the design of battery module and operating conditions. The analysis of the battery thermal management system (BTMS) design by using the numerical model is conducted for air and liquid type BTMSs. From the numerical analysis, it is found that a wide battery module with a small cell to cell gap is desirable for the air type BTMS while a narrow battery module with a small gap is desirable for a liquid type BTMS. The results also show that the air type BTMS consumes much more power compared with the liquid type BTMS especially for high heat load condition. However, under low heat load conditions, the power consumption of the air type BTMS is acceptable considering its advantages over the liquid type BTMS. ► The design and fluid type effects of the BTMS are investigated using numerical model. ► A wide battery module with a small cell to cell gap is desirable for the air type BTMS. ► A narrow battery module with a small gap is desirable for a liquid type BTMS. ► Fluid types and design should be selected depending on the heat load of the battery pack.