Thermal Characterization & Management of PHEV Battery Packs

Battery cell temperature affects the life and performance of the battery pack, including available power. Temperature variation between cells in a pack can lead to different charge/discharge behavior for the cells that may lead to electrical imbalance and degraded system performance. Flow balancing of the coolant has a significant impact on the performance of the system.

This paper studies overall system flow balancing, focusing on various cooling fin designs & their pressure drops. Given a pump performance curve, an optimal fin pressure drop is estimated. This estimation is then tested in the lab to validate the “optimal” fin pressure drop necessary to achieve balanced flow.