Abstract
Lithium (Li)-ion battery thermal management systems play an important role in electric vehicles because the performance and lifespan of the batteries are affected by the battery temperature. This study proposes a framework to establish equivalent circuit models (ECMs) that can reproduce the multi-physics phenomenon of Li-ion battery packs, which includes liquid cooling systems with a unified method. We also demonstrate its utility by establishing an ECM of the thermal management systems of the actual battery packs. Experiments simulating the liquid cooling of a battery pack are performed, and a three-dimensional (3D) model is established. The 3D model reproduces the heat generated by the battery and the heat transfer to the coolant. The results of the 3D model agree well with the experimental data. Further, the relationship between the flow rate and pressure drop or between the flow rate and heat transfer coefficients is predicted with the 3D model, and the data are used for the ECM, which is established using MATLAB Simulink. This investigation confirmed that the ECM’s accuracy is as high as the 3D model even though its computational costs are 96% lower than the 3D model.
Highlights
Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained popularity as transportation vehicles [1,2]
Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries are widely installed in electric vehicles (EVs) because of their high-power density, high energy density, long lifetime, and less self-discharge [1]
Many cooling methods are used for battery thermal management systems (BTMSs), and the coolant materials can be mainly categorized into three types: air, liquid and phase change materials (PCMs)
Summary
Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained popularity as transportation vehicles [1,2]. Air cooling is one of the most commonly used methods It is simple and its advantage is the weight of the refrigerant, it is not suitable for a large capacity battery pack because air has a low thermal conductivity and heat capacity [3]. Mineral oil, or mixture ethylene glycol and water is adopted as the liquid coolant materials, the mixture of ethylene glycol and water is normally used by the EV manufacturers [1]. This is because the mixture has a lower melting point than 0 ◦ C, and it is suitable for operating even in cold environments. Because the direct liquid cooling is concerned about the electrical short, indirect cooling using the thermal
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