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.
Exh
aust
Sys
tem
C
oo
lan
t sy
stem
T
E
Sys
tem
T
E
Mo
du
le
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: [email protected], 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.
Rad
iato
r
C-e
vap
ora
tor
H-C
on
den
ser
Compressor
Rad
iato
r
Rad
iato
r
C-e
vap
ora
tor
H-C
on
den
ser
Bat
tery
HX
Rad
iato
r
Sum
mer
Bat
tery
Win
ter
