Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Electric vehicles offer many advantages over a conventional IC engine automobile.
These advantages are energy efficiency, no noise, does not depend on fossil fuel. Electric
motors are more efficient than IC engines by converting more energy to drive the vehicle.
Various other features bring EVs under lime-light like regenerative braking, EVs have
smoother acceleration and braking systems, more cost-effective. However, there are many
challenges faced that are related to the battery module. The battery emits a large amount of
heat which needs to dissipate most effectively and keeping the battery cool. This helps in
increasing not only the efficiency of the battery but also its health. High temperature (C) can
increase the growth of the> 50 solid electrolyte interface and increase the internal resistance.
This increase would reduce the power delivery significantly. Under extreme conditions, the
separator will melt and cause a thermal runaway of the cell. Battery temperature plays a
major role in the availability of the charging and discharging power, cell balancing, and
charge acceptance during regenerative braking. Not taking an account of the rise in battery
temperature can lead to a thermal runway which causes the battery to rupture, explode or
cause a fire. This not only puts life under threat but also causes property damage. This paper
discusses various methods which can be used to cool Li-Ion batteries.

Fig 1.1 Air Cooling Of Battery

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 There are nowadays different blending levels of hybrid electric vehicle and pure
electric vehicle available on the current automobile market. According to the blending level,
various size, type and number of battery cells are mounted in EVs. Unlike conventional fuel,
battery cells as an energy source have stricter requirement on working environment. They are
especially sensitive to temperature. To ensure a proper thermal working environment, a
Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) will normally be integrated with battery cells.
Thus, knowledge about the proper working requirements of battery is vital, and what kind of
management systems can sufficiently and efficiently meet these requirements. With this
cornerstone, the performance and durability of battery pack can be maximized in an electric
vehicle. Furthermore, the electric range of vehicle is restricted due to limited capacity of the
battery. It is very useful to investigate carefully the electric energy consumption of BTMS
and to look for potential savings. This investigation will help battery performance by
reducing the energy consumption of BTMS and extending the electric range of EVs. The
main purpose of this master thesis is to develop a BTMS model for balancing the different
cooling and heating circuits within the battery pack to fulfil the performance requirements.
As prerequisites for the modelling, the requirements of the battery pack will be investigated
at first through literature research. Then, several potential BTMSs, both in commercial stage
and study phase, will be listed in a concept selection matrix with their pros and cons. Two of
them will be proposed as candidates for the following simulation. After the models are built
up through simulation tool Simulink®, they will be tested in different initial conditions.
Lastly, the corresponding performance parameters of systems will be analysed and compare

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 Chapter 2
INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE

 Conventional vehicles use fossil fuel and pollution due to combustion is a serious
concern on the environment. The scope of Electric vehicles (EV) has been essential
due to the adverse impact of fossil fuels on the environment
 An electric vehicle does not use any fossil fuel for power generation and has zero
emission
 Many initiatives have been taken to reduce air pollution using non-conventional
energy sources. Electric vehicles use the electric battery and help to reduce pollution.
External electric supply charges the battery which supplies electric power to the
motor. The electric motors transfer power to the front and back wheels.
 Many automobile industries are shifting from internal combustion engine cars to
electric vehicle

Fig 2.1 Key Parts Of Electric Vehicle

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  Automotive industries have invested hugely in the research and development of
electric vehicles at an affordable rate
 Electric vehicles have several advantages like improved energy efficiency,
performance, and environmentally friendly, and are free from combustion-generated
pollution
 Technologies in electric vehicles have been developed for thermal management for
battery systems, power controllers and electric motor

2.1 Challenges of Battery of Electric Vehicles

 Long Charging time
 Overheating battery
 High Cost of battery
 Safety against heating or short circuit
 The limited life of the battery
2.2 Effect of temperature on battery life
 Ensure battery operation under optimal temperature range (15 C to 35 C)
  Monitor the state of the battery and detect the critical point of battery failures and
deliver alarm messages
  Suppress thermal runway propagation

Fig 2.2 Effect Of Temperature On Battery Life

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 The electric vehicle has a battery management system (BMS) to provide essential
information such as:Thermal Protection
 Over and Under voltage protection
 Over-current Protection
 Prolong battery life
 Cell Balancing
 SoC and SoH calculation
 Communication with all battery components
 Data acquisition and analysis
 The high battery temperature leads to poor performance, a short lifetime, and the risk
of blasting.Therefore, a BTMS is essential for all battery modules.
 The main purpose of a BTMS is to maintain the battery system in the optimum
temperature range andkeep uniform temperature variation in the battery modules
 Other factors for battery selection are weight, size, reliability, and the cost
 The following figure shows the most used thermal management techniques for battery
module .

Fig 2.3 thermal management techniques for battery

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2.3 Different Battery Cooling Methods Used in BTMS
 To adapt to EVs, BTMS must ensure features such as high performance,
simplicity, low weight, reduced cost, low use of parasitic power and fast
packaging, and easy maintenance
 Two types of battery cooling systems (BCS) are common which are
external or internal. Many researchers and industries have been
developing BCSs
 External Battery cooling systems (EBCS) are classified into several
different ways
 Battery cooling can be categorized based on the method or technique.
 Liquid or gas  cooling: plate type or use of mini-channel)
 Heat pipe
 Phase Change Material (PCM)

Fig 2.4 Cooling Medium Of BTMS

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 Chapter 3
AIR COOLING

 Air is easily available for cooling purposes and it is widely used in many industries.
However, air is not an effective coolant because of its lower heat capacity and low
thermal conductivity
 All two-wheelers use an air cooling system. It does not need any maintenance cost.
The battery is placed at the bottom of the seat. During the discharging, air flows
increase with an increase in the speed of the bike or scooter.
 Due to low maintenance of costs, the following type of air cooling system is popular
in some automobile industries like Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf
 The cooling is possible either by forced convection (active cooling) mode and natural
convection (passive cooling) mode
 Natural convection cooling is suitable only for low-density batteries, and typically
blowers/fans can be used to enhance the convection heat transfer rate
 When air is used for cooling of battery modules arranged in series, the middle and
rear portion of batteries are at high temperature to the low heat capacity of air. The
temperature of the battery pack near the outlet is very high and the temperature
distribution is highly non-uniform. To cool effectively, we need to increase the flow
rate and turbulence of airflow.
 CFD study of different battery modules can be carried out for different configurations
of airflow rates and electric vehicles

Fig 3.1 Air Cooling Of Battery

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3.1 Air Cooling Battery Pack in EVs
The following are popular  battery pacts with air cooling in electrical vehicles

 Honda Insight
 Honda FitEV
 Hyundai IONIQ
 Nissan e-NV 200
 Nissan Leaf
  Renault Zoe
 Toyota Prius Prime
3.2 Liquid cooling of Battery
 Liquid coolants have a high convective heat removal rate due to higher density and
heat capacity compared to air
 A liquid cooling system is more compact than an air system. We can save up to 40%
of separate power compared to the fans required for air cooling.
 Moreover, liquid cooling can reduce the noise level. However, the complexity of the
liquid cooling system and its leakage potential can be defined into direct and indirect
cooling.
3.3 Indirect liquid cooling
 Water has been an effective coolant for several industrial applications But the main
challenge is the short-circuited potential for direct cooling of batteries
 To avoid the short-circuit issue, indirect methods are effective to avoid electrical
conduction with cells while maintaining high thermal diffusion
 The addition of electrical resistance may resist thermal diffusion. But its effects on
cooling is not significant.
 Some EV manufacturers such as General Motors, and Tesla are using indirect cooling
in their cars. General Motor used cold plates between each prismatic cell. The cold
plates have several micro-channels for convective heat removal from batteries.
 Tesla has used wavy tubes placed between cylindrical cells. Thermally conductive
and electrically insulated material is used to fill the gaps between the battery cells and
cooling ducts.
 The wavy tubes may not be effective for cooling because of the small heat transfer
contact area, it is safer from the mechanical and electrical point of view. All the

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 connections of coolants are kept outside of the enclosure to avoid the leakage of
coolant.
 Liquid cooling of batteries is shown below and heat transfer takes place from the cells
to cooling channels


Fig 3.2 Liquid cooling of Battery

Fig 3.3 Liquid cooling of Batteries

 The design strategy of thermal management system for battery modules, controller,
and electric motor

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Chevrolet Cooling System
 This consists of a large number of micro-channels embedded in the metal plates to
carry out a coolant
 The plate is placed between two battery sets to remove the heat
3.4 Direct liquid cooling (Immersion)
 Direct cooling is also called immersion cooling, covers the entire surface of the cell
and cools it uniformly
 Immersion cooling removes hot or cold spots in the cell and significantly improves
the performance of the cell.
 Ideal coolant mush be dielectric with minimum viscosity and high thermal
conductivity and thermal capacity
 Immersion cooling is widely used for data center servers and high-power electronics
devices
 BTMS for this method is not suitable for most  mass-produced EV due to high cost
and safety concerns
 Immersion cooling is useful for batteries of high-performing EVs and EV racing. The
fluid has a boiling point between 60 – 80 °C to prevent overheating of the cells and
avoid thermal runaway. Modular type containers are used for the cells where they can
be submerged in the liquid

Fig 3.4 Immersion Cooling

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Liquid Cooling Battery Pack in EVs
The following are popular battery pacts with  liquid cooling in electrical vehicles

 Audi R8 e-Tron
 Ford Focus
 GM Chevrolet Bolt and  Chevrolet Volt
 Tesla Model X, Model S, Model 3
 Toyota –iQ
 Volvo XC90 T8
Phase change Material (PCM) Cooling
 The phase change material absorbs heat significantly due to high latent heat during
battery discharge
 The PCMs have been used for thermal management have a melting point in the
optimum performing range of lithium cells. The cell temperature needs to remain for a
long time.
 PCM as paraffin has a melting point in the range of 32-38°C which is mixed with
graphite flakes to improve thermal conductivity
 The graphite flakes will also create a semi-matrix block which will contain the
paraffin particles. When the paraffin melts, it stays within this matrix and the whole
composition remains as the solid form
 The basic equation for phase change material (PCM): V*ρ*L = P*t, where
V = Volume of  PCM in cell (m3)

ρ = Density of PCM in cell (kg/m3)

L = Latent heat of fusion of PCM (per kg)

P = Power absorbed  (Watt)

t = Time of power absorption (seconds)

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  The advantage of solid PCM is that they also act as shields, in case one cell enters a
thermal runaway
 Classification of PCM materials for battery cooling is given below
 Select the phase change material which can maintain the temperature of cell 25-35 °C
3.5 Heat Pipe
 Heat pipes have been considered versatile in many industrial applications for their
efficient cooling and
thermal management
 Similar to the passive cooling method of   PCM, applying the heat pipes to cool or
remove heat energy from the battery provides efficient
heat transfer t low power consumption
 In this mechanism, heat is  transferred through latent heat of vaporization (phase
change) from the evaporator to the condense
  The working fluid can be passively transported back to the evaporator by capillary
pressures it is developed
within a porous wick lining. Operating in this situation the heat is continuously
absorbed and released.

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Fig 3.5 Flat heat pipe cooling a HEV lithium –ion battery pack

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 Chapter 4

COMPARISON OF COOLING METHODS

 Commonly used cooling methods are compared in the following table

Selection of Parameters for Optimum Performance

 Selection of battery cooling system comprises many parameters
Operating conditions of the battery
 Load on battery
 Current rate and voltage
Environmental conditions Cells
 Chemistry of battery cells like Lithium-ion
 The geometry of cells: cylindrical or rectangular
 Reactions: cyclic or non-cyclic
 Properties of cell materials
Packing of cells
 Thermal interface
 Cooling medium

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Mode of cooling: forced convective or nature draft cooling. CFD simulations are useful  to
decide the rate of cooling and thermal design of the cooling circuit
 Thermal interface and fitting of battery packs
 Concept design of battery cooling

Scope of CFD Modeling for Battery Thermal Management System

 Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modelings  have more scopes for design
optimization for different cooling methods  
 The following parameters we can optimize based on CFD simulations
 Geometry of cells
 Thermal interface
 Determining the heat transfer coefficient for air or water cooling
 Optimum spacing between two cells
 Desired level of turbulent level in the fluid
 Read the post on modeling of battery with governing equation and numerical models
 Selection of Power for Electric vehicles
 Shape and Size of battery
 Electro-chemistry
 Cooling Mechanism
 Charging time
 Heat Transfer Rate
The following figure shows the temperature contours of battery units with PCM materials.
High temperature is observed in the middle portion of the battery unit.

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 Temperature distribution over a cylindrical cell is shown below

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 Chapter 5
CONCLUSION

Several  methods for  battery cooling   have been developed in the last two decades
for the effective cooling of batteries in electric vehicles The air cooling system is simple but
the heat removal rate is low. In contrast, immersion cooling is fast but it can lead to short
circuit or corrosion issues. Operating and environment conditions,  safety, battery back,
coolant, mode of cooling (forced or natural) and thermal interface are key parameters for
battery thermal management systems. CFD modeling will help for the optimum design of the
battery cooling system. The data can be used for the development of an AI algorithm for
battery management with a better life for cells

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 Chapter 6
REFERENCE

[1] A.Chu, Y.Yuan, J. Zhu, X. Lu, C. Zhou, The Design and Investigation of a Cooling
System for a High Power Ni-MH Battery Pack in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, (2020), 10
(1660) Applied Sciences

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