INDU7 - SenseBEM

For batteries in vehicles to function reliably over their intended lifetime, they must be operated within a specific narrow temperature window. This task is performed by thermal management.

For its development, real battery cells are mainly used to test the hardware and control strategies. However, this entails disadvantages. For example, the developers have to handle life-threatening voltages and there is a risk of fires and toxic gases, so expensive safety technology is required. The cell also limits the scope of testing, as it must be charged and discharged and is also subject to cell aging.

Aim

The goal of the project is to replace the real battery cell in thermal management development and validation, thus circumventing the hazards and enabling faster and safer testing.

For this purpose, battery cell replacement models (BEM) are used, which reproduce the thermal properties of a real cell, but without active cell chemistry and electrical potential. These BEMs look like real battery cells and behave thermally equivalent, but at the same time they are safe and produce reproducible results.

Approach

• The BEMs are first compared to simulations and the underlying real battery cell through bench testing to verify and, if necessary, adjust the modeling.
• In the next step, interior fiber optic measurement technology is integrated into the BEM to generate high-resolution measurement data from inside the BEM during development to create an advanced understanding.
• In the final step, a battery module will be equipped with the BEMs and a validation environment will be explored to capture and best exploit all the advantages of this new technology.