LCVs Thermal Management and Energy Harvesting

“Integrated Thermal Management for Car Batteries and Thermal Comfort in Electric Vehicles”

Circular High denseTE Circular TE Flexible TE

By a combination of novel heating and cooling methods, our battery

thermal management subsystem is targeted to be integrated with

air conditioning system in order to optimise the energy consumption

model at powertrain level.(Left) As a result, the BTMS is supplied by

regulating and distributing energy flow from our heat pump air

conditioning system. Heat pump system will not only supply

sufficient thermal comfort to the passenger in the cabin but also

maintain the battery performing at its designed ambient condition all

year round.

Our newly developed heat pipe based BTMS focuses on the bi-

directional characteristics offered by the copper/water sintered L-

shape heat pipe aiming at both internal cooling and heating. By

integrating such super thermal conductor, we are aiming to achieve

highest thermal response and overall thermal performance to meet

the extreme requirements from reliability, safety and durability

issue.

Advanced Component

Design Process

System Integration

System

Fabrication

1. Component Selection

2. Component Fabrication

3. System Assembly and Integration

4. Final Test and Characterisation

5. Delivery the Battery System Prototype

System Specification (Energy, Power, Size)

Safety Requirements

Cells Selection

Cells Modelling

(Electrical, Mechanical, Thermal)

Thermal Design Thermal simulations

Thermal layout of Battery System

Thermal Management (Liquid, air)

Cooling & Heating

Heat Pipes

Microchannels

Refrigeration

Solid State Heat Conduction

Electrical Design Battery Monitoring Hardware /Software

Design

Battery Management Hardware /Software Design

Cell Voltage Equalization Design

Power Electronics:

DC-DC converters/IGBTS/MOFSET

Electric Motors

Mechanical Design Battery Cell Assembly Design

Battery Module Assembly Design

Battery Assembly Design

Battery Mechanical Design

Air/Liquid flow channel pattern

Heat sinks package and assembly

Exhaust emissions have become the

major contributors for global air pollution,

greenhouse effect and eventually, global

warming. Thermoelectric generators

(TEGs) have been identified as a reliable

solid state technology for power

generation from exhaust gas. TEGs have

many advantages in comparison to other

thermal energy recovery methods, i.e. no

moving parts, produce no noise and

vibration, low maintenance, more

environmentally friendly and direct

conversion of low quality thermal energy

into high quality electrical energy.

Our TEG studies focus on heat transfer

performance of TE material, advanced

heat sinks for cooling and advanced heat

pipes for heating which will maximise the

performance of electricity generation

within thermoelectric P-N couples.

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Research & Development Roadmap of Energy Harvesting System for Fossil Fuel Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles

“Technical innovation of Energy Harvesting for Fossil Fuel Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles” Rectangular TE

1st Prototype (Validated) 2nd Prototype (Validated) 3rd Prototype (Developed in-house) 4th Prototype (Research undergoing)

Thermal management of lithium-ion battery systems is critical to the

success of all-electric vehicles because extreme temperatures can

affect performance, reliability, safety and durability. Based on our

learning experience, we have proposed a systematic approach to

designing and evaluating a BTMS under an ‘integration’ mind at

thermal comfort level . (Right).

Our goal of thermal management system is to deliver a battery pack

at an optimum average temperature with even temperature

distribution between the modules and within the pack as identified by

the battery and car manufacturer. Moreover, the pack thermal

management system meet the requirements of the vehicle: compact,

lightweight, low cost, easily packaged, and compatible with location

in the vehicle. In addition, it is reliable, and easily accessible for

maintenance by using low parasitic power, allow the pack to operate

under a wide range of climate conditions and provide ventilation if

the battery generates potentially hazardous gases.

* Contact: Professor Yuying Yan, Chair in Thermofluids Engineering

Head of Fluids & Thermal Engineering Research Group

* Email: yuying.yan@nottingham.ac.uk, Tel: 0115 951 3168

Fluids & Thermal Engineering

Research Group

Faculty of Engineering

University of Nottingham, UK

The design of energy harvesting system aims to design a functional exhaust pipe to be

able to produce the maximum possible power on a limited length of the exhaust pipe.

The research group at University of Nottingham has proposed an over 1 kW

thermoelectric generator within half meter length by means of enhancing the heat

transfer performance in radial direction of exhaust flow. This novel design will match

the demanding requirements of low carbon cars.

Heat pipe technology assisted battery thermal management system with integration of heat pump thermal comfort system.

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