Experimental investigation of thermoelectric cooling for a new battery pack design in a copper holder

Abstract

Solid-state thermoelectric refrigeration and heat pump systems can be integrated with battery packs in electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) for effective thermal management in both hot and cold environments. Operating modes can be switched by changing the polarity of the input voltage to the thermoelectric system. In this paper, a new design of a battery pack is proposed which includes an acrylic battery container, copper battery holders, liquid cooling medium, and battery cells. This battery pack is integrated with a battery thermal management system (BTMS) which includes thermoelectric cooling (TEC) in combination with liquid and air circulations. The aim of the BTMS is to handle heat generation during operation of the battery pack. Heat, generated by the battery pack, is transported to the cold end of the TEC and then dissipated to the surrounding environment by a heatsink. Fundamental design optimization is carried out on a single cell first. System performance is then validated in the battery pack experiments. For the 40 ​V test, the proposed system reached approximately 20 ​°C lower when compared with only liquid cooling. In the 30 ​V power supply test, the battery pack temperature did not exceed 30 ​°C in a period of 5000 ​s. Furthermore, the battery pack temperature was under 60 ​°C at 3000 ​s during a continuous discharge condition with a 50 ​V input, which is considered an extreme condition for battery operation.