It is widely understood that higher temperatures accelerate the rate of degradation in lithium-ion battery cells. Given the requirements for longevity in high value segments such as automotive and heavy-duty vehicle applications, appropriate thermal management of cells is paramount to the success of a battery system in the field.
The use of cylindrical cells offer great flexibility for packaging but means of cooling them can be more complicated. Common techniques include the use of forced air convection, phase change material (PCM), conductive cold plates using water/glycol or direct immersive cooling.
Vantage Power have perfected a cooling system for cylindrical cells based on direct immersive technology. Using a pumped di-electric coolant the heat is removed directly from the cell surface shortening the thermal path. Using advanced computational fluid dynamics VP has been able to optimise the flow distribution through the battery modules. Achieving homogeneous cooling for cells in distributed battery packs is important to equalising degradation effects.
Vantage Power have built an expertise in efficient immersive cooling designs for safety critical applications such as this proving out safety cases for containment of cell thermal runaway conditions. This thermal management technique ties in tightly to the advanced control strategies that complement the thermal management functionality.