Simulation Research on Thermal Control of Integrated Air Conditioner and Power Battery

Currently, conventional air and liquid cooling methods fall short in adequately dissipating heat from the battery pack, particularly under high ambient temperatures and during high discharge power operation. Designing a novel and efficient thermal management system for lithium-ion battery packs holds paramount importance in contemporary research on pure electric vehicles. This endeavor is crucial to guaranteeing the safe and optimal functioning of the battery pack while also enhancing its lifespan. Considering that the air conditioning system is the largest source of cooling capacity of pure electric vehicle, this paper is proposed to integrate the cooling circuit of the air conditioning system with that of the battery, wherein the battery pack functions as a thermal load for the air conditioning system. This setup utilizes the cooling capacity of the air conditioning system to regulate the temperature of the battery pack. The interface between AMESim and Matlab/Simulink is used for co-simulation, and valuable results are obtained. The simulation outcomes demonstrate that the integrated thermal management system, encompassing both the air conditioner and the battery pack, effectively maintains the battery pack temperature within the range of 28 to 40 °C. Additionally, it ensures a maximum temperature difference of 2 °C among various battery packs within the pack. In addition, compared with PID control, fuzzy control can prove that the overshoot of the crew cabin temperature is within an acceptable range of 1 °C, and the battery pack power consumption is reduced by about 1.4%. Evidence supports that the system outlined in this paper satisfies the heat dissipation needs of both the crew cabin and the battery pack.