Effects of Li-Ion Battery Pack Thermal Managementon Performance and Life

Lithium ion batteries have been widely adopted for hybridized vehicles such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. As the life of Li-ion batteries is strongly coupled to both the load profile and the thermal conditions, the ramifications of thermal management strategy of the battery pack life must be considered. This has been highlighted by several high profile events, for example surrounding reduced range and battery life in high temperature environments.

In this presentation, using commercial AutoLion™ software, we investigate the effects of various thermal management strategies and drive cycles on the life of automotive Li-ion battery packs. Figures 1 and 2 give two examples of capacity and power fade of a 16kWh PHEV battery pack undergoing a standard drive cycle in two different environments: Phoenix, AZ and Portland, ME. Using illustrative examples, we demonstrate how small changes in thermal management can lead to a significant change in the end-of-life performance of Li-ion battery packs.

Acknowledgements

Partial support of this work by the Korean Agency of Defense Development (ADD) is greatly acknowledged.

References

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4.  J.Kalupson, G. Luo, and C.E. Shaffer, “AutoLion™: A Thermally Coupled Simulation Tool for Automotive Li-ion Batteries,” SAE Technical Paper 2013-01-1522, 2013, doi: 10.4271/2013-01-1522. SAE International World Congress and Exhibition, April 16, 2013, Detroit, MI