Project 1 Mechanical design of battery pack

Battery pack capacity: 18 kWh

Cell: ANR26650M1-B

Prepare a detailed battery pack drawing along with its enclosure. State your assumptions.

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ABSTRACT

In this project, we are going to calculate the all parameters which are required for the build EV battery pack. We are going to use the Cell: ANR26650M1-B for our battery pack. In parameters, we will consider all electrical aspects like temperature, Depth of discharge, Operation current, Energy density, Work cycles, Battery capacity, State of Charge (SOC), State of Health (SOH), Ampere-hour (Ah) Capacity. We also calculate all geometrical considerations like size, weight, volume, area, etc. In the end, we consider some enclosures model for our battery pack.

ANR26650M1-B Datasheet

From above all parameters we will calculate further parameters which are used for battery pack construction.

Cycle Life Performance, 100% DOD, Various Temperatures and Discharge Rates of cell:

Constant Power Discharge Characteristics at 23°C of cell:

2.5C Constant Current Discharge at Various Temperatures:

A123’s high-performance Nanophosphate lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery technology delivers high power and energy density combined with excellent safety performance and extensive life cycling in a lighter weight, more compact package. Our cells have a low capacity loss and impedance growth over time as well as high usable energy over a wide state of charge (SOC) range, allowing our systems to meet end-of-life power and energy requirements with minimal pack oversizing.

Calculation

NO.of.cells in series = (Total Voltage/Single cell Nominal Voltage)

= 72/3.3

NO.of.cells in series = 22

NO.of.cells in parallel = (Battery pack capacity/Single cell Capacity)

= 250/2.6

NO.of.cells in parallel = 96.15

Total.No.of cells = NO.of.cells in series * NO.of.cells in parallel

= 22 * 96.15

Total.No.of cells = 2115.38

Battery pack architecture:

All high voltage battery packs are made up from battery cells arranged in strings and modules. A battery cell can be regarded as the smallest division of the voltage.

Individual battery cells may be grouped in parallel and/or series as modules. Further, battery modules can be connected in parallel and/or series to create a battery pack. Depending on the battery parameters, there may be several levels of modularity.

The total battery pack voltage is determined by the number of cells in series. For example, the total (string) voltage of 6 cells connected in series will be the sum of their individual voltage.

In order to increase the current capability the battery capacity, more strings have to be connected in parallel. For example, 3 strings connected in parallel will triple the capacity and current capability of the battery pack.

An example is the high voltage battery pack of Tesla Model S, which has:

• 74 cells in a parallel-group
• 6 groups in series for a module
• 16 modules in series
• 7104 cells in total

Design of cell holder (Bottom and Top)

The main function of a battery holder is to keep cells fixed in place safely and securely also it is used to keep cells in a proper arrangement so that there will be a decrease in mechanical vibration, and have a better thermal runway in between the cell gaps. Most of the cell holder is made up of polypropylene or nylon bodies rated for 80–100 °C.

Design of pack cover

Basically, Pack cover is made up of Aluminium and the reason behind is to keep battery pack for lightweight. The casing/cover thickness is 0.5 mm and the design is as shown below:

A bottom cover is shown to cover below the bottom battery holder.

Design of Lower floor case for battery pack

Basically, the lower case is a part which is fitted in an electric vehicle for the assembly of the battery pack. A lower case is also made up of aluminum and it has top cover and bottom cover to battery pack from dust and environmental pollution.

The design of the lower case is shown

Positive and Negative Clip

A positive and negative clip is used to connect the battery end cap i.e (+) and (-). Design is shown below:

To make the battery pack, you have to connect the many cells together by means of Nickel strips or thick wire. Generally, Nickel strips are widely used for this. In general two types of nickel, strips are available in the market: nickel-plated steel strips and pure nickel strips. I will suggest buying a pure nickel. It is a little bit costlier than nickel-plated steel, but it has much lower resistance. Low resistance means, less heat generation during the charging and discharging, which leads to longer useful battery life.

Nickel strips come with different dimensions and lengths.

Joining of Cylindrical Cell Battery Pack

Cylindrical cells have improved thermal management efficiency because of compact shape, but have low packaging efficiency because of their round cross-section. Here I use a positive and negative tab to connect multi cells.

The suitability of joining methods to build battery packs using cylindrical cells is shown below: