Optimized Cooling System Concept for Electric Compact-SUV with Indian Environmental Conditions 2021-26-0410
With the rising pollutant emission level in Indian cities, the focus on pure BEVs is also increasing in India. Therefore, the Indian Government is currently preparing suitable policies to promote the acceptance of BEVs (e.g., FAME-2) [1]. The goal is to provide subsidies and develop the required infrastructure for battery charging.
The environmental conditions in India differ significantly from those in other developed countries in Europe or China. The maximum temperatures can rise to 55 °C in the summertime [2]. In winter, temperatures in the northern Himalayan regions can fall below -25 °C [3]. Within this wide range of environmental conditions, all components, such as the electric motor and battery, must be conditioned by the thermal system of the vehicle.
On the one hand, HV battery packs are one of the main cost drivers. On the other hand, currently, the battery size must be maximized to improve the driving range and ensure customer acceptance. Fast discharging and charging operations, required in automotive applications, can lead to uneven temperature distribution across the battery pack. Battery aging gets accelerated with cell temperatures exceeding 40-50 °C [4]. Additionally, in ambient temperatures below 0 °C, the usable battery State of Charge SOC reduces drastically, which leads to a much-reduced driving range. Since the battery's lifetime is strongly dependent on temperature, the importance of thermal management becomes even more substantial.
The study focuses on evaluating the thermal management of a compact electric SUV using a 1D simulations approach. Simulations are performed not only for standard legislative cycle-based operations but also for real drive-cycle at low and high temperatures expected in India. Proposals for low-cost updates on the base vehicle thermal management system to achieve better vehicle energy efficiency are made and evaluated with simulation results.
Citation: Emran, M., Garg, S., Manns, M., and Sharma, V., "Optimized Cooling System Concept for Electric Compact-SUV with Indian Environmental Conditions," SAE Technical Paper 2021-26-0410, 2021, https://doi.org/10.4271/2021-26-0410. Download Citation
