The Development of an Isothermal Control Platform (ICP) for the Precise Regulation of Battery Temperatures using Multiple Zone Control

电池的特性在锂离子电池化学的发展中是至关重要的。这影响了模块和相关热管理系统的设计，这些系统处理电动汽车使用过程中产生的热量。因此，了解特定的电池化学成分和结构是否能够以安全的方式提供足够的功率，以在正常和极端使用条件下驾驶车辆，这是至关重要的。设计一种防止电池过热的冷却系统是每一款电动汽车的必备要求，对安全性、电池寿命和续航里程都有影响。因此，必须建立对电池行为的精确了解，以最大限度地减少因充放电实验获得的设计数据不准确而造成的缺陷。伦敦帝国理工学院(ICL)的研究人员最近确定，在保持恒温环境的恒温室中对锂离子电池进行此类实验所获得的数据存在显著的不准确性。有人指出，这在气温较低的情况下是一个问题，例如世界许多地区冬季遇到的情况。很明显，受试电池的温度偏差很大，因为主要的散热方法是通过对流。这导致了对它们的行为和性能的严重误解，并引起了极大的关注，因为这表明目前使用等温箱的方法在很大程度上是有缺陷的，但完全依赖于锂离子电池和电动汽车行业。实现更恒定温度的另一种方法是通过直接接触电池。这将以一种更可控和更直接的方式通过传导进行热量交换，完全避免了上述不准确。被认为是安全量热领域的世界领先者，特别是在锂离子电池和电动汽车领域。我们认为，利用他们在这个问题上的专业知识，将导致一个亟需的测试平台的成功开发，该平台将提供一种手段，获得更可靠的数据，用于电池和电动汽车的设计和开发。

"The characterisation of batteries is critical in the development of Li-ion battery chemistries. This influences the designs of modules and the associated thermal management systems which handle the heat generated during their use in electric vehicles. Consequently it is fundamental to understanding whether or not particular battery chemistries and constructions are capable of providing enough power in a safe manner to drive a vehicle under both normal and extreme conditions of use. The design of a cooling system which prevents batteries from overheating is a necessary requirement in every electric vehicle and impacts on both safety, battery longevity and vehicle range. It is therefore imperative that a precise understanding of battery behaviour is established to minimise shortfalls that come about as a result of inaccuracies in the design data obtained from charging and discharging experiments.It was determined recently by researchers at Imperial College (ICL) in London, that there are significant inaccuracies with data obtained from such experiments on Li-ion cells when carried out in isothermal chambers that maintain a constant temperature environment. This was noted to be a problem at lower temperatures, such as those encountered during the winter in many parts of the world. It was clear that the temperatures of the batteries under test were deviating significantly, as the main method of heat removal was through convection. This resulted in significant misinterpretations of their behaviour and performance and is of great concern as this indicates that the current methods which use isothermal chambers are flawed to a significant extent, yet are relied upon exclusively by the Li-ion battery and the electric vehicle industries.An alternative means of achieving a more constant temperature is by direct contact with the battery. This will exchange heat through conduction in a much more controlled and direct manner, avoiding the above mentioned inaccuracies altogether.Bletchley based Thermal Hazard Technology (THT - a trading arm of Heath Scientific Co. Ltd.) are considered to be World leaders in Safety Calorimetry and in particular within the Li-ion battery and electric vehicle sectors. It is considered that bringing their expertise to bear upon this problem will lead to the successful development of a much needed testing platform which will provide a means of obtaining much more reliable data for use in the design and development of batteries and electric vehicles."