# Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering

 Front. Mech. Eng.    2019, Vol. 14 Issue (1) : 65-75     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-018-0520-z
 RESEARCH ARTICLE |
Modeling and optimization of an enhanced battery thermal management system in electric vehicles
Mao LI1,2, Yuanzhi LIU1, Xiaobang WANG1,3, Jie ZHANG1()
1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
2. Beijing Institute of Aerospace Testing Technology, Beijing 100074, China
3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
 Download: PDF(737 KB)   HTML Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks
 Abstract This paper models and optimizes an air-based battery thermal management system (BTMS) in a battery module with 36 battery lithium-ion cells. A design of experiments is performed to study the effects of three key parameters (i.e., mass flow rate of cooling air, heat flux from the battery cell to the cooling air, and passage spacing size) on the battery thermal performance. Three metrics are used to evaluate the BTMS thermal performance, including (i) the maximum temperature in the battery module, (ii) the temperature uniformity in the battery module, and (iii) the pressure drop. It is found that (i) increasing the total mass flow rate may result in a more non-uniform distribution of the passage mass flow rate among passages, and (ii) a large passage spacing size may worsen the temperature uniformity on the battery walls. Optimization is also performed to optimize the passage spacing size. Results show that the maximum temperature difference of the cooling air in passages is reduced from 23.9 to 2.1 K by 91.2%, and the maximum temperature difference among the battery cells is reduced from 25.7 to 6.4 K by 75.1%. Corresponding Authors: Jie ZHANG Just Accepted Date: 10 May 2018   Online First Date: 04 June 2018    Issue Date: 30 November 2018
 Cite this article: Mao LI,Yuanzhi LIU,Xiaobang WANG, et al. Modeling and optimization of an enhanced battery thermal management system in electric vehicles[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2019, 14(1): 65-75. URL: http://journal.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/10.1007/s11465-018-0520-z http://journal.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/Y2019/V14/I1/65
 0
 Fig.1  Battery module model Tab.1  A design of experiments for the three key parameters Tab.2  Boundary condition types Fig.2  The temperature distribution of the cooling air Fig.3  Effects of mass flow rates on the (a) maximum temperature difference and pressure drop, (b) maximum temperature on the battery cell, and (c) passage mass flow rate Fig.4  Effects of the heat flux on the (a) maximum temperature difference and pressure drop, (b) passage mass flow rate, and (c) maximum temperature on the battery cell Fig.5  Effects of the passage spacing size on the (a) maximum temperature difference and pressure drop, (b) maximum temperature on the battery cell, and (c) passage mass flow rate Fig.6  Distributions of the (a) velocity on the mid-plane in the first passage, and (b) passage pressure drop with different passage spacing sizes Fig.7  Distributions of the (a) passage spacing size, (b) maximum temperature on the battery cell, and (c) passage mass flow rate for M0 and M1 Fig.8  Distributions of the (a) passage spacing size, (b) maximum temperature on the battery cell, and (c) passage mass flow rate for M0, M2, M3, and M4 Tab.3  Maximum temperature difference of the cooling air among the passages ($ΔTa???? max?$), maximum temperature difference among the battery cells ($ΔT max?$), and pressure drop in different cases Fig.9  Distributions of the (a) passage spacing size and passage mass flow rate, (b) the air temperature at the passage outlet and the maximum temperature on the battery cell for M4 and M5, and (c) temperature contours in the rear passages in M5
 1 Kizilel R, Sabbah R, Selman J R, et al. An alternative cooling system to enhance the safety of Li-ion battery packs. Journal of Power Sources, 2009, 194(2): 1105–1112 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.06.074 2 Lu L, Han X, Li J, et al. A review on the key issues for lithium-ion battery management in electric vehicles. Journal of Power Sources, 2013, 226(3): 272–288 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.10.060 3 Rao Z, Wang S. A review of power battery thermal energy management. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2011, 15(9): 4554–4571 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.096 4 Fotouhi A, Auger D J, Propp K, et al. A review on electric vehicle battery modelling: From lithium-ion toward lithium-sulphur. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, 56: 1008–1021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.009 5 Ling Z, Zhang Z, Shi G, et al. Review on thermal management systems using phase change materials for electronic components, Li-ion batteries and photovoltaic modules. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014, 31(2): 427–438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.017 6 Zhao R, Zhang S, Liu J, et al. A review of thermal performance improving methods of lithium ion battery: Electrode modification and thermal management system. Journal of Power Sources, 2015, 299: 557–577 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.09.001 7 Park H. A design of air flow configuration for cooling lithium ion battery in hybrid electric vehicles. Journal of Power Sources, 2013, 239: 30–36 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.03.102 8 Giuliano M R, Prasad A K, Advani S G. Experimental study of an air-cooled thermal management system for high capacity lithium-titanate batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 2012, 216(216): 345–352 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.05.074 9 Rao Z, Wang Q, Huang C. Investigation of the thermal performance of phase change material/mini-channel coupled battery thermal management system. Applied Energy, 2016, 164: 659–669 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.12.021 10 Huo Y, Rao Z, Liu X, et al. Investigation of power battery thermal management by using mini-channel cold plate. Energy Conversion and Management, 2015, 89: 387–395 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.10.015 11 Jarrett A, Kim I Y. Influence of operating conditions on the optimum design of electric vehicle battery cooling plates. Journal of Power Sources, 2014, 245(1): 644–655 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.06.114 12 Liu R, Chen J, Xun J, et al. Numerical investigation of thermal behaviors in lithium-ion battery stack discharge. Applied Energy, 2014, 132(11): 288–297 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.07.024 13 Greco A, Cao D, Jiang X, et al. A theoretical and computational study of lithium-ion battery thermal management for electric vehicles using heat pipes. Journal of Power Sources, 2014, 257(3): 344–355 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.02.004 14 Ye Y, Saw L H, Shi Y, et al. Numerical analyses on optimizing a heat pipe thermal management system for lithium-ion batteries during fast charging. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2015, 86: 281–291 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.04.066 15 Qu Z G, Li W Q, Tao W Q. Numerical model of the passive thermal management system for high-power lithium ion battery by using porous metal foam saturated with phase change material. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2014, 39(8): 3904–3913 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.12.136 16 Li W, Qu Z, He Y, et al. Experimental study of a passive thermal management system for high-powered lithium ion batteries using porous metal foam saturated with phase change materials. Journal of Power Sources, 2014, 255: 9–15 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.01.006 17 Basu S, Hariharan K S, Kolake S M, et al. Coupled electrochemical thermal modelling of a novel Li-ion battery pack thermal management system. Applied Energy, 2016, 181: 1–13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.049 18 Hwang H Y, Chen Y S, Chen J S. Optimizing the heat dissipation of an electric vehicle battery pack. Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 2015, 7(1): 204131 https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/204131 19 Fan L, Khodadadi J M, Pesaran A A. A parametric study on thermal management of an air-cooled lithium-ion battery module for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Journal of Power Sources, 2013, 238: 301–312 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.03.050 20 Zhao J, Rao Z, Huo Y, et al. Thermal management of cylindrical power battery module for extending the life of new energy electric vehicles. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2015, 85: 33–43 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.04.012 21 Xun J, Liu R, Jiao K. Numerical and analytical modeling of lithium ion battery thermal behaviors with different cooling designs. Journal of Power Sources, 2013, 233: 47–61 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.01.095 22 Ji B, Song X G, Cao W P, et al. Active temperature control of Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles. In: Proceedings of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Conference (HEVC 2013). London: IEEE, 2013 https://doi.org/10.1049/cp.2013.1916 23 Sun H, Wang X, Tossan B, et al. Three-dimensional thermal modeling of a lithium-ion battery pack. Journal of Power Sources, 2012, 206(206): 349–356 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.01.081 24 Sun H, Dixon R. Development of cooling strategy for an air cooled lithium-ion battery pack. Journal of Power Sources, 2014, 272: 404–414 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.08.107 25 Mohammadian S K, Zhang Y. Thermal management optimization of an air-cooled Li-ion battery module using pin-fin heat sinks for hybrid electric vehicles. Journal of Power Sources, 2015, 273(273): 431–439 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.09.110 26 Mohammadian S K, Zhang Y. Thermal management optimization of an air-cooled Li-ion battery module using pin-fin heat sinks for hybrid electric vehicles. Journal of Power Sources, 2015, 273(273): 431–439 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.09.110 27 Ling Z, Wang F, Fang X, et al. A hybrid thermal management system for lithium ion batteries combining phase change materials with forced-air cooling. Applied Energy, 2015, 148: 403–409 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.03.080 28 Yu K, Yang X, Cheng Y, et al. Thermal analysis and two-directional air flow thermal management for lithium-ion battery pack. Journal of Power Sources, 2014, 270(4): 193–200 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.07.086 29 Wang Z P, Liu P, Wang L F. Analysis on the capacity degradation mechanism of a series lithium-ion power battery pack based on inconsistency of capacity. Chinese Physics B, 2013, 22(8): 088801 https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-1056/22/8/088801 30 Vetter J, Novák P, Wagner M R, et al. Ageing mechanisms in lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 2005, 147(1–2): 269–281 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.01.006 31 Zhu C, Li X, Song L, et al. Development of a theoretically based thermal model for lithium ion battery pack. Journal of Power Sources, 2013, 223(1): 155–164 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.09.035
Related articles from Frontiers Journals
 [1] Thiago ANTONINI ALVES,Paulo H. D. SANTOS,Murilo A. BARBUR. An invariant descriptor for conjugate forced convection-conduction cooling of 3D protruding heaters in channel flow[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2015, 10(3): 263-276. [2] Yimin ZHANG. Reliability-based robust design optimization of vehicle components, Part II: Case studies[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2015, 10(2): 145-153. [3] Yimin ZHANG. Reliability-based robust design optimization of vehicle components, Part I: Theory[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2015, 10(2): 138-144. [4] Guisheng ZHAI, Masayuki NAKA, Tomoaki KOBAYASHI, Joe IMAE. Towards neutral steer and sideslip reduction for four-wheeled electric vehicles[J]. Front Mech Eng, 2012, 7(1): 16-22. [5] Guilin YANG, Shabbir Kurbanhusen MUSTAFA, Song Huat YEO, Wei LIN, Wen Bin LIM. Kinematic design of an anthropomimetic 7-DOF cable-driven robotic arm[J]. Front Mech Eng, 2011, 6(1): 45-60. [6] PU Jinhuan, YIN Chenliang, ZHANG Jianwu. Fuel optimal control of parallel hybrid electric vehicles[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2008, 3(3): 337-342.
Viewed
Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared   0
Discussed