Indirect Battery Heating Loop for EV Heat Pump Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat pump systems for battery-operated vehicles struggle to efficiently combine the heating needs of the vehicle cabin with the cooling and heating requirements of the battery and electric drive train, often resulting in complex systems that fail to meet these demands effectively.
Innovation Solution
A heat pump arrangement with indirect battery heating, featuring a refrigerant circuit with a compressor, heating condenser, expansion valves, external heat exchanger, evaporators, battery chiller, and a heating circuit with a coolant cooler, battery heat exchanger, and drive train cooler, allowing for independent operation of battery temperature control and electric drive cooling loops, and incorporating an indirect battery heating loop to transfer heat from the battery heating loop to the refrigerant or heat carrier circuit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat pump system is designed to provide heating for the vehicle cabin, then the heating capability is improved, but the system complexity increases when also needing to cool and heat the battery and electric drive train
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pump system is designed with multi-functional components that can serve multiple purposes. The heating condenser can provide heat to the vehicle cabin, battery, or electric drive train depending on operational needs. The refrigerant circuit can be configured to perform heating, cooling, or heat transfer between different components, allowing a single system to handle multiple thermal management requirements without proportionally increasing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal management system is divided into separate controllable loops: a battery temperature control loop and an electric drive cooling loop. Each loop has its own control mechanisms and can operate independently or in coordination with the heat pump. This segmentation allows the system to address different thermal needs of various components without requiring a completely separate system for each, balancing functionality with manageable complexity
2Device complexity
If the battery temperature control loop and electric drive cooling loop are integrated into the coolant circuit, then system complexity is reduced, but the ability to independently control battery heating and cooling is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamic control mechanisms including 3/2-way valves and expansion valves that can adjust refrigerant flow distribution in real-time. These valves enable the system to dynamically switch between different operational modes (heating, cooling, heat transfer) and allocate refrigerant flow to different components based on immediate thermal management needs, maintaining independent control capability while using a shared coolant circuit infrastructure
3Use of energy by moving object
If direct battery heating is used, then the heating efficiency is improved, but the system cannot simultaneously provide cooling to the battery and electric drive train
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pump refrigerant circuit acts as an intermediary thermal management system. Instead of directly heating or cooling components, the refrigerant circulates through heat exchangers (heating condenser, evaporators, battery chiller) that transfer thermal energy to and from the battery and electric drive train. This intermediary approach allows the system to efficiently transfer heat between components and to the vehicle cabin while maintaining the ability to provide both heating and cooling functions through proper refrigerant flow configuration
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 solution enables efficient heating and cooling of the vehicle cabin, battery, and electric drive train, optimizing energy use and reducing system complexity by allowing for independent operation of key components and effective heat transfer through indirect battery heating.
Implementation Method 1
an indirect heat exchanger (11) which transfers heat from the battery heating loop into a refrigerant circuit or a heat carrier circuit
Implementation Method 2
heat of the heating condenser can be transferred from the refrigerant circuit via the heating circuit and the indirect battery heating loop in the indirect heat exchanger to the secondary bypass circuit
Implementation Method 3
heat from the heating device can be transferred to the secondary bypass circuit and finally to the battery heat exchanger via the heating circuit and the indirect battery heating loop
Data Source
AI summary
A heat pump arrangement and a method of operating a heat pump arrangement. The heat pump arrangement has a refrigerant circuit and a coolant circuit, wherein the coolant circuit is configured for indirect battery heating. The refrigerant circuit includes a compressor, a heating condenser, a 3/2-way expansion valve, an external heat exchanger, at least one evaporator with an associated expansion element as well as a 3/2-way expansion valve arranged in parallel to the evaporator, and a battery chiller. The coolant circuit includes a coolant cooler and a battery heat exchanger with an associated coolant pump and at least one drive train cooler with an associated coolant pump arranged in parallel to the battery heat exchanger.