IEEE PEDS 2011, Singapore, 5 - 8 December 2011
Modelling of Battery Temperature Effect on
Electrical Characteristics of Li-ion Battery in Hybrid
Electric Vehicle
Y.K. TAN1, J.C. MAO2 and K.J. TSENG2
Energy Research Institute @ Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
E-mail: tanyenkheng@ieee.org
Abstract-This paper presents an enhanced modelling method for
the commonly used energy storage device i.e. lithium-ion (Li-ion)
battery of a hybrid electrical vehicle (HEV). In this enhanced
modelling method, the thermal effect, an important part of the
battery electrical model, is considered to generate a holistic
understanding, hence the characteristic of the Li-ion battery.
Because of the high temperature sensitivity of the battery
cell/pack in HEV, it is critical to have such accurate thermal-
electrical model. Compared with sole electrical model of Li-ion
battery, the simulation results from MATLAB Simulink
modelling show that the combination of thermal and electrical
models by making use of a thermal function to model the
differences made by temperature exhibit better representations
of the actual characteristic of the Li-ion battery.
I. INTRODUCTION
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have attracted tremendous
attention as a commercially viable alternative to traditional
vehicles because HEVs are much more environmentally
friendly. Increasing emission standards across the globe have
popularized this type of alternative form of transportation.
HEV is an optimal combination of two power sources, a
conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) and a
rechargeable energy storage system (battery). Unlike
conventional vehicles, vehicular power demand is shared
between the two power sources to reduce the fossil fuel
consumption in HEVs [1]. Moreover, regenerative braking
used to charge the onboard battery system also reduces the
loss of brake power in the form of heat. These developments
lead to a cheap and low emitting means of transportation. The
main challenges in this path of development towards HEV are
its battery and battery management system (BMS).
The efficiency of battery and battery management system
accounts for the success of the hybrid electric vehicle. The
increase in charge retention, utilization and life of the battery
would boost the reliability of the HEV [2]. The
commercialization of different new chemistries (Ni-MH,
Lithium), introduction of battery monitoring systems and
constructional changes have not only increased the efficiency,
performance and reliability but also broadened the scope of
research in the field of battery technology. Due to the high
energy density, low self-discharge rate and no memory-effect
issues, Li-ion batteries have gained much attention over Ni-
MH as a feasible solution to the HEV power demand [3].
978-1-4577-0001-9/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE
However, unlike Ni-MH, Li-ion is susceptible to abuse.
The anisotropic thermal property of Li-ion cells is of great
concern. The compromise between the axial and radial heat
transfer is dependent on the cell, which is designed for the
specific purpose [3]. Moreover, overcharge or over-discharge
increases the internal temperature of the cell. The larger the
number of cells in series, greater is the probability of
overcharge and over-discharge. In HEV application, due to
the limited room inside the vehicle, the batteries packs are all
in a tight package, which makes it hard to cool down the
batteries. The temperature can be very high inside the battery
packs. The operating temperature for Li-ion battery is -20°C
to 60°C when charging and -50°C to 60°C when discharging
[4]. If the temperature is too high, the charge and discharge
efficiency will be affected. At the same time, the unexpected
high temperature may make contributions to the decreasing of
battery lifetime and even some safety issues. Hence, proper
thermal modelling and management of the battery packs in
HEV is essential to maximize the pack performance and life.
Various battery models are being introduced and studied in
the HEV applications [5]. It can be classified as
Electrochemical, Mathematical, Electrical and Polynomial [6].
Electrochemical models use the fundamental battery
chemistry, mathematical models use empirical equations and
polynomial models express its responses in terms of a
polynomial expression. Electrical models employ the
electrolyte, electrode, polarization resistances, and
capacitances along with a controlled battery source. Among
different battery models, electrical models are more realistic,
intuitive, useful and easy to handle. Since it is a parametric
model, it can be applied to any battery model irrespective of
its chemistry, configuration, and rate of discharge by finding
suitable combination of parameters [6]. Almost all electrical
aspects of battery models classify the internal resistances in
the battery as electrode and electrolyte resistances and
thermal effects on the battery are not modelled in detail for
these models [6]-[8].
To figure out the battery temperature effect on the
behaviour of the Li-ion battery itself, this paper not only
considers the electrical characteristic aspects of a Li-ion
battery such as charge extraction due to current and effect of
internal resistance, but also extends to the thermal effects
beyond temperature rise due to power lost. The thermal
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model that considers the temperature rise in the core and crust discharge h (21°C) 20%/mo nth
of each individual battery cell is employed. The rest of the nth (21°C)
paper is arranged as follows: Section.II discusses on the
Cycle 400-1200 500-800 500-1000
consideration of Li-ion battery for use in HEV and then the Durability
electrical and thermal modelling of the battery is illustrated in
Section.III. After which, some simulations were conducted Operating 20°C~60 25°C~45 30°C~60
and the result are presented in Section.IV and end with a Temperature °C °C °C
conclusion in Section.V. (Charge)
II. LITHIUM ION BATTERY IN HEV 50°C~60
°C
In the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications, size and (Discharg
weight of the vehicle are the two critical factors that e)
complicate HEV’s efficiency. Having a car full of batteries
leaves little room for passengers, additional payloads and
everyday shopping items, which conversely suggest that there Lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells have demonstrated excellent
is limited space in a HEV for large and bulky battery packs. performance when operated at ambient temperature
Hence, battery with higher energy and power densities is conditions [2]. Still, the adverse effect of temperature
greatly needed for the successful implementation and excursions on lithium-ion cell performance is evident when
commercialization of HEV. Lithium-ion (Li-ion), lead-acid the cell is operated at temperatures beyond 65°C or below
and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) secondary batteries are 0°C [4]; the lithium battery performance would easily be
three common energy storage devices being considered in the affected by the temperature of its ambient environment. As
HEV industry. shown in Fig.1, for powering hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a
Lead-acid battery is the oldest type of rechargeable number of cells are packed together in various configurations
batteries with relatively high power-to-weight ratio, capable (parallel and/or series connected) to form a module. Several
of supplying high surge currents. However, its energy-to- modules are then combined in series or parallel to provide the
weight and energy-to-volume ratios are very low such that required voltage and capacity for the HEV application.
this type of battery cannot provide enough energy and power
in a limited room of the HEV. As for NiMH battery, the
energy density is high, equivalent to Li-ion battery, but the
drawback is that it has much higher self-discharge rate. In
addition, the current NiMH can provide is very limited so it
may better fit some little digital devices like cameras and cell
phones instead of a HEV. As such, Li-ion battery, in terms of
its electrical characteristics like energy and power densities,
is the best choice for HEVs. The following table lists the
useful data for Lithium-ion, lead-acid and NiMH batteries.

Table 1: Characteristics of three types of batteries

Battery Li-ion Lead- NiMH

types acid Fig.1: Battery pack design of HEV with different cell configurations [2]
Specific 100-250 30-40 30-80
Energy Wh/kg Wh/kg Wh/kg Evidently, it is important to keep the battery pack
temperature within the fairly narrow temperature range
Energy 250-360 60-75 140-300 mentioned above, to maintain optimal battery performance
Density Wh/l Wh/l Wh/l and cycle life. Temperature variation between individual cells
Specific ~250- 180 250-1000 in a pack [2] may result from:
Power ~340 W/kg W/kg
W/kg 1. Ambient temperature differences at various points of
the pack surface;
Charge and 80%-90% 50%- 66%
2. Non-uniform impedance distribution among cells;
Discharge 92%
3. Differences in heat transfer efficiency among cells.
Efficiency
Energy/Price 2.5 7-18 2.75 Factor 2 is an unintended condition, but may result from
Wh/US$ Wh/US$ Wh/US$ defects in quality control. However, it may also develop
Self- 8%/mont- 3%- 30%/mo- during operation of a battery pack, due to differences in local

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heat transfer rate. Factor 3 depends strongly on pack
configuration since some of the cells at the center tend to
accumulate heat, while others along the edges are cooled by
heat transfer to the environment [9]. This variation may lead
to further differences in impedance (factor 2) which amplify
capacity differences among the cells. Capacity imbalance
may cause some cells to be over-charged or over-discharged
during cycling of the pack, and this may result in premature
failure. Failure may take the form of thermal runaway or
accelerating capacity fading. Both are related to excessive
heat generation in individual cells.
Fig.2 Passive Cooling Model [11]
Fig.3 Active cooling Model [11]
An effective battery thermal management system (BTMS) assumptions: -
needs to be designed to avoid premature failure. The goal of a
thermal management system is to deliver a battery pack at an
optimum average temperature with even temperature
distribution (or only small variations between the modules
and within the pack) as identified by the battery manufacturer.
[11] As mentioned before, due to the size limitation and
economic criterions of HEVs, the thermal management
system needs to be lightweight, low cost and easily packaged.
Passive cooling technology and active cooling technology are the variables, E0, K and q, that vary when the temperature is
two basic ways to achieve a successful thermal management different. In this paper, the battery temperature effect on its
system. The lower price and relatively simpler design makes electrical behaviour is investigated and considered.
passive cooling technology more acceptable for
manufacturers today. However, electronic cooling systems
based on active cooling technology have a bright future. As
shown in Fig. 3, the cool chip creates a temperature
difference between heat source (battery cells) and heat sink so
that a smaller cooling fan can be used. BTMS designers make
decisions referring to the heat generation and distribution of
the battery pack. Hence, for proper design of the thermal
management system, thermal modelling and analysis are
required for the battery modules and packs of the HEV.
III. ELECTRICAL AND THERMAL MODELLING OF
BATTERY
A. ELECTRICAL MODEL
To implement the battery electrical model, a Li-ion battery
cell is considered as a series circuit with a controlled voltage
source and a battery internal resistance in the circuit [10].
Fig.4: Nonlinear battery model [10]
In this model shown in Fig.4, the equation for the
controlled voltage source is described as Eqn.(1):
𝑄
𝐸 = 𝐸0 − 𝐾 � � + 𝐴𝑒 −𝐵𝑞 (1)
𝑄−𝑞
where E, E0 and K are the no load voltage (V), battery
constant voltage (V) and plarisation voltage (V) respectively.
𝑄 is the battery capacity (Ah) and A and B are the exponential
constants. The output voltage of the battery is defined as:
𝑉𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡 = 𝐸 − 𝑖𝑅𝑖 (2)
where 𝑖 and 𝑅𝑖 symbolize the battery discharge current and
the internal resistance of the battery respectively. The
electrical model used in this paper has the following
1. Internal resistance is assumed to be a constant
regardless of the temperature and the charging and
discharging process
2. Temperature doesn’t affect the battery performance
3. Discharge current doesn’t affect the battery
performance
As for the discharge characteristic curve, it is decided by
B. THERMAL MODEL
As discussed in the electrical model, the power loss during
discharge, 𝑖 2 𝑅𝑖 , is mainly converted into heat dissipated into
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the ambient environment. The heat generated in the procedure transfer is formed. There are some other choices of the
will increase the temperature of the core and the crust of the cooling fluid. Nanofluid is a good substitute of air. Fluids
battery cell itself [5]. In this paper, the thermal model of a containing nanoparticles have a proven ability to increase
single cell battery is considered rather than the battery pack thermal conductivity and heat transfer and hence reduce the
inside the HEV. The heat transfer can be divided into three size, weight and number of heat exchangers for cooling
types which are convective heat transfer, conductive heat power electronics [9].
transfer and radiation. Fig.5 shows the thermal model of the
single cell battery [5].
C. COMBINATION OF THERMAL AND ELECTRICAL
MODELLING
This model is a combination of battery electrical model and
thermal model. In this model, the temperature makes
differences on the three basic variables of electrical model
which are polarization voltage K, battery constant voltage E0
and the exponential coefficients A and B. To make the model
simpler, we ignore the thermal effects on A, since A and E0 is
highly related. The B coefficient makes significant
differences on the exponential part of the characteristic curves,
so we should consider the thermal effects of B. In order to
take the temperature into consideration, a temperature
Fig.5: Thermal model of single cell battery
function is introduced to this model.
There are conductive heat transfer between the core and the
𝑥𝑁 = 𝑓(𝑇) = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑇 + 𝑐𝑇 2 + ⋯ (6)
crust and the convective heat transfer between the crust and
ambient environment (in this case, it is considered as air). The
where,
radiation is ignored because it is insignificant compared with
N = K, E0, B
the convective and conductive heat transfer.
T = Ambient temperature of battery cell.
1. Modelling of Conductive Heat Transfer
Refer to the battery datasheet, the temperature functions of
The heat flux between the core and the curst can be
K, E0 , B is calculated as followings:
calculated as:
𝑇𝑐𝑜 −𝑇𝑐𝑟
𝑑ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = (4) 𝑥𝐾 (𝑇) = 𝑓(𝑇) = 0.876 − 0.028𝑇 + 4.218 × 10−4 𝑇 2 (7)
𝑅𝑐
where Tco and Tcr are the temperatures at the core and crust
𝑥𝐸0 (𝑇) = 𝑓(𝑇) = 0.986 + 4.97 × 10−4 𝑇
of the battery cell respectively. Rc is the contact thermal
−6.6 × 10−5 𝑇 2 (8)
resistance between the core and the crust. To simplify the
analysis, in this paper, the temperature distribution with the
𝑥𝐵 (𝑇) = 𝑓(𝑇) = 0.733 − 0.045𝑇 + 9.63 × 10−4 𝑇 2 (9)
core and the crust is assumed to be uniformed [5]. With this
assumption, the internal thermal resistance is negligible, and
thus, combine Eqns.(1), (7) and (8),
the conductive heat transfer only happens in the radial
direction.
𝑄
𝐸(𝑞, 𝑇) = 𝑥𝐸0 (𝑇)𝐸0 − 𝑥𝐾 (𝑇)𝐾 � � + 𝐴𝑒 −𝑥𝐵 𝐵𝑞 (10)
𝑄−𝑞
2. Modelling of Convective Heat Transfer
The heat flux of convective heat transfer from the curst to
Referring to Fig.6, the 0℃ discharge curve is marked as a
the surroundings is expressed and calculated by:
reference to the rest of the three discharge curves and this
𝑑ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 = ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣 𝐴(𝑇𝑐𝑟 − 𝑇𝑓 ) (5) makes the polarisation voltage, K, battery constant voltage, E0,
and the exponential coefficients, A and B, be considered as
where hconv is the convective heat transfer coefficient and A is
the reference data. The data under other temperatures can be
the convective exchange area between the crust and the
expressed with the temperature functions and the reference
surroundings cooling fluid. Tf is the temperature of the
data. The polarization voltage in 25℃ is used as an example:
surroundings cooling fluid. The convective heat transfer
coefficient depends on the cooling fluid itself and the types of 𝐾(25℃) = 𝑥𝐾(25℃) 𝐾𝑟𝑒𝑓 (11)
fluid flow. Air is used as the cooling fluid in this paper. A
With 4 groups of data, the parameters i.e. 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 in Eqn.(6)
forced convective heat transfer is much more effective than a
can be calculated for each temperature function. Thus, we can
nature convective heat transfer. In HEV battery packs, all
use the results to simulate the discharge characteristics of this
battery cells are in a tight package. So air pumps are needed
battery under certain temperatures. In this model, it is
to create the airflows. Therefore a forced convective heat

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assumed that the discharge current does not affect the battery Table 2: Specifications of Lithium ion battery CGR17500
output, and the temperature function for each variable is only
up to the second power of T. Also, the temperature is
assumed to be a constant during the discharge process.

Table 3: Specifications of Lithium ion battery CGR18650

The charge and discharge condition of the batteries is

provided as the following [12].
1. For CGR17500
Fig.6: Discharge characteristics of Lithium ion battery under different
• Charge Conditions: Constant voltage/constant
temperatures [5]
current, 4.2V, 550mA (max), 2 hours, 20℃.
• Discharge Conditions: Constant current 780mA.
2. For CGR18650
• Charge Conditions: Constant voltage/constant
current, 4.2V, 910mA (max), 2 hours,20℃.
• Discharge Conditions: Constant current 260mA.

Referring to the Li-ion battery model given in Fig.7, there

are altogether seven different inputs. These inputs are termed
as follows: temperature, T, reference polarization voltage,
𝐾𝑟𝑒𝑓 , refrence battery constant voltage, 𝐸0 𝑟𝑒𝑓 and the
reference exponential coefficients, 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑓 and 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑓 , and the
battery capacity, Q, of 830 mAh. All the reference data value
can be calculated according to the discharge curve under 0℃
since it is set as the refrence temperature. There is another
input q which is a ramp input. The slop of the ramp is 0.001,
which makes q increase by 1 mAh per time unit. Based on the
Fig.7: Simulink diagram of improved battery model with its temperature
simulation model seen in Fig.7, the output waveforms of the
effect incorporated
improved model with battery temperature effect incorporated
IV. SIMULATION are depicted in Figs.8 and 9. The voltage vs time curve
indicates the discharge characteristics of the Li-ion battery.
In the Matlab/Simulink software, there is already some
When a temperature is input, the designed simulation model
form of standard Li-ion battery model available for use to
will get the discharge curve of the battery under this certain
simulate and analysis battery performance. The battery model
temperature.
contains two separate circuits linked by a voltage controlled
The Li-ion battery cell model with electrical and thermal
system, which is used to represent the nonlinear relationship
considerations is simulated for various temperature conditions.
between the State of Charge (SOC) and the open circuit
As can be seen in Figs.8 and 9, the two different batteries, i.e.
voltage (VOC). One circuit models the overall capacity of the
CGR17500 and CGR18650, have their own discharge
battery and the other models the battery’s internal resistance
characteristic curves. Comparing between the simulated
[10]. However, the effect of temperature on the battery
discharge curves and the experimentally published in
performance is not considered in the standard battery model,
datasheets discharge curves, it is clearly seen that the
because the battery is expected to operate under a relatively
simulated results generated by the proposed simulation
steady temperature condition. Hence, an improved modelling
models resemble the actual experimental data gathered from
approach based on Eqns.(7)-(10) to better estimate the
datasheets closely at various operating temperatures. Another
performance of a single cell battery implemented in
phenomenon observed in both Figs.8 and 9 is the downward
MATLAB Simulink Tool is shown in Fig.7.
shift of the discharge curve as the operating temperature
Panasonic Lithium ion battery CGR17500 and CGR18650
decreases from 45°C to -10°C. Referring to Fig.7, at fully
are chosen as an example during the following steps. Table 2
charge condition, the battery voltage is around 4.2 V @ room
and 3 show all the specifications of CGR17500 and
temperature of 20°C. When the ambient temperature where
CGR18650 [12].

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the battery is operated drops to -10°C, the battery voltage is
left with only 3.5 V; a ~17 % voltage drop. This is critical in
the design of the power management system for batteries.
Fig.8: Discharge Curve for CGR17500
Fig 9: Discharge Curve for CGR18650
To further understand how well the designed simulation
model resemble the actual battery characteristic, the
percentage errors between the proposed battery model with
thermal and electrical considerations and the experimental
data recorded in the battery datasheet are plotted in Figs.10
and 11. Referring to Figs.10 and 11, the amount of errors is
well within 2 % for various operating temperatures and
energy capacities. This positive outcome is promising for the
proposed battery cell model to be extended to a battery pack
and even to battery modules used in HEV.
Fig 10: Percentage error between simulated model and actual CGR17500
battery datasheet
Fig 11: Percentage error between simulated model and actual CGR18650
battery datasheet
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, a thermal cum electrical analytical model of a
lithium ion battery is derived and simulated. The proposed
battery model is able to simulate the effects on the battery
behavior made by temperature. It provides a way to predict
the discharge characteristics over a range of battery
temperatures, which is helpful for the thermal analysis of
battery packs in HEVs. Simulation results show that the
proposed simulation model closely resembles the experiment
results recorded in the battery’s datasheet.
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