Vehicle Battery Charging Temperature Regulation via Pre-cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for regulating the charging temperature of electric vehicle batteries face challenges in reducing charging time and increasing cooling power, leading to heat generation and noise, especially during rapid charging, and are limited by the maximum battery temperature, which restricts charging speed and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a controlled cooling circuit with a fluid to pre-condition the battery temperature upon arrival at a charging station, allowing for efficient heat absorption and storage, enabling faster charging and utilizing stored heat for interior temperature control or external dissipation without reducing the vehicle's range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If active cooling is used to maintain battery temperature during charging, then battery temperature is controlled within permissible range, but charging time increases and cooling power requirements increase during rapid charging
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cooling of the battery before charging begins, so that the battery starts charging at an optimal temperature. This pre-cooling action allows for higher charging currents to be applied during charging without immediately exceeding temperature limits, thereby reducing overall charging time while maintaining temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers waste heat generated during battery charging and uses it for interior heating purposes. By converting the harmful heat that would otherwise need to be actively removed into a useful resource for climate control, the system reduces the cooling power requirements during charging and enables more aggressive charging profiles.
2Productivity
If cooling power is increased to enable faster charging, then charging speed increases, but heat generation in surrounding area increases and noise from cooling fan increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures and recovers the waste heat generated during rapid charging processes. This recovered heat is then utilized for interior heating applications, converting what would be a harmful byproduct into a useful resource. This approach enables high-speed charging without the penalty of excessive heat rejection to the surrounding environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal management system serves multiple functions: it cools the battery during charging, recovers waste heat, and provides interior heating. By making the cooling system multi-functional, the system can operate more efficiently during rapid charging, reducing the need for high-power cooling and associated noise and heat rejection.
3Temperature
If maximum cooling power is applied during charging, then battery temperature is controlled, but energy consumption increases and vehicle range is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system recovers waste heat from battery charging and uses it for interior heating, eliminating the need for separate heating energy consumption. This heat recovery approach converts energy that would be wasted into a useful resource, reducing overall energy consumption and preserving vehicle range.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the battery's own charging heat to provide interior heating, making the system self-sufficient for thermal management. By utilizing the heat already generated during charging, the system avoids additional energy consumption for heating and reduces the cooling power needed, thereby conserving energy and extending range.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables rapid charging of electric vehicle batteries while maintaining optimal temperature, reducing energy consumption, and extending vehicle range by effectively managing heat through active cooling and storage, even in cold conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the vehicle battery is cooled by means of a coolant which circulates in a cooling circuit of the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
absorbs the charging heat, which is generated by the vehicle battery at the time of the charging procedure, with the aid of the fluid mass of a coolant circuit
Implementation Method 3
which has a pump for pumping the coolant through the vehicle battery
Implementation Method 4
If it becomes necessary to heat the vehicle battery, the coolant for the vehicle battery can be heated by a heating apparatus and/or the stored waste heat from the charging procedure can be used
Data Source
AI summary
System for regulating a charging temperature (T) of a vehicle battery (2) of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle battery (2) is cooled by means of a fluid (F) which circulates in a cooling circuit (21) of the vehicle, which is controlled by a controller (18) such that, upon reaching a charging station, the temperature of the vehicle battery (2) is pre-controlled to a desired charging start temperature (T0) which is suitable for an electrical charging procedure for speedily charging the vehicle battery (2) by means of the charging station.