Water-Cooled Condenser Heat Recovery for EV Battery Warming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric and hybrid vehicles' traction batteries struggle to perform at peak efficiency under cold and mild ambient temperatures, necessitating effective heating solutions to enhance performance.
Innovation Solution
An automotive system that utilizes excess heat from a water-cooled condenser of a heat pump to warm the traction battery by flowing coolant from the condenser to a circuit arranged for heat exchange with the battery, controlled by a system that monitors and maintains optimal temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate heating system is added to heat the traction battery, then the battery performance under cold temperatures is improved, but the device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pump system is designed to serve multiple functions: cooling the cabin during hot weather, heating the cabin during cold weather, and heating the traction battery when needed. By making the heat pump universal, the patent eliminates the need for separate heating systems for both the cabin and battery, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining reliable battery performance under cold temperatures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the battery heating function with the existing heat pump system by adding a heat exchanger that allows the heat pump's coolant to transfer heat to the battery. This combination integrates what would otherwise be separate systems (cabin climate control and battery thermal management), reducing overall system complexity while ensuring the battery maintains optimal temperature for peak performance
2Reliability
If a separate heating system is added to heat the traction battery, then the battery performance under cold temperatures is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts waste heat that would otherwise be discarded from the heat pump system into a useful resource for heating the traction battery. When the heat pump operates to cool the cabin, it generates excess heat that can be redirected to warm the battery during cold conditions. This approach eliminates the need for additional energy-consuming battery heating systems while maintaining peak battery performance
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers waste heat from the heat pump's operation that would normally be discarded to the environment. By capturing and redirecting this waste heat to the battery through a heat exchanger, the patent recovers energy that would otherwise be lost, thereby reducing overall energy consumption while ensuring the battery operates at peak efficiency even in cold temperatures
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 effectively utilizes waste heat to maintain the traction battery at optimal temperatures, improving performance without additional components and reducing energy consumption, while ensuring cabin heating remains unaffected.
Implementation Method 1
a water cooled condenser in thermal communication with the evaporator
Implementation Method 2
a circuit arranged to exchange heat with the traction battery
Data Source
AI summary
A controller, while operating an evaporator to remove heat from air in a cabin and during absence of requests to heat the cabin and a traction battery, flows coolant from a water cooled condenser to a circuit arranged to exchange heat with the traction battery until a temperature of the traction battery is less than a battery threshold temperature or a temperature of the coolant is greater than a coolant threshold temperature.