Thermal behavior of small lithium‐ion secondary battery during rapid charge and discharge cycles

The secondary batteries for an electric vehicle (EV) generate much heat during rapid charge and discharge cycles above the rated condition, when the EV starts quickly consuming the battery power and stops suddenly recovering the inertia energy. During rapid charge and discharge cycles, the cell temperature rises significantly and may exceed the allowable temperature. We calculated the temperature rise of a small lithium-ion secondary battery during rapid charge and discharge cycles using our battery thermal behavior model, and confirmed its validity during discharge cycle at current smaller than the discharge rate of 1C. The heat source factors were measured by the methods described in our previous study, because the present batteries have been improved in their performance and have low overpotential resistance. The battery heat capacity was measured by a twin-type heat conduction calorimeter, and determined to be a linear function of temperature. Further, the heat transfer coefficient was measured again precisely by the method described in our previous study, and was arranged as a function of cell and ambient temperatures. The calculated temperature by our battery thermal behavior model using these measured data agrees well with the cell temperature measured by thermocouple. Therefore, we can confirm the validity of this model again during rapid charge and discharge cycles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(3): 17–25, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20249 Copyright © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.