Li-ion power battery temperature control by a battery thermal management and vehicle cabin air conditioning integrated system

• Published in: Energy for sustainable development Vol. 57; pp. 141 - 148
• Main Authors: Cen, Jiwen, Jiang, Fangming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.08.2020
• Subjects: air conditioning; algorithms; Direct refrigerant cooling; Electric vehicle; electric vehicles; Li-ion battery thermal management; lithium batteries; PID control algorithm; temperature; thermostats; Direct refrigerant cooling; Electric vehicle; Li-ion battery thermal management; PID control algorithm
• ISSN: 0973-0826
• DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2020.06.004

Efficient and effective thermal management of Li-ion battery pack for electric vehicle application is vital for the safety and extended-life of this energy storage system. In this paper, the thermal management system of a battery module is presented as an integral part of the electric vehicle air conditioning system. The refrigerant is bifurcated from the main system through a pipe and expansion valve and guided to the battery module compartment consisting of 64 18650-type Li-ion battery arranged in the form of 8 × 8 array. Several experimental strategies such as expansion valve throttle level, thermostat sensitivity and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm are investigated. The results indicate that a larger openness of the throttling valve avoids superheating of the refrigerant and maintains the maximum temperature difference in the battery module around 2 °C. Additionally, thermostat sensitivity and PID control algorithm is found to be able to offer effective thermal management for an electric vehicle battery pack. •The battery thermal management is integrated with the vehicle air conditioning.•Battery temperature control by the valve openness and thermostat sensitivity.•The PID control algorithm is found to be an effective strategy.