Hybrid 1D – 3D Thermal Modelling Approach for a High Voltage Battery in GT-SUITE

The increasing diffusion of battery electric vehicles has imposed more severe demands on vehicle range, reliability of accumulators and safety for occupants. In this scenario, development of battery thermal management systems plays a pivotal role in improving BEVs performance, in parallel with the implementation of accumulators based on new materials and cells. Scope of the study was to develop a virtual model of a high voltage battery module in GT-SUITE environment, aimed at evaluating the potential of such a methodology in the prediction of thermal behaviour, the response to the imposition of heat sources and the efficiency of the coupling scheme with the thermal management circuit. The model was implemented with custom mesh components, and a hydraulic circuit based on 1D elements. Simulations showed a high level of accuracy, with strong correspondence between predicted temperatures and experimental results, while the presence of custom mesh components allowed a deeper comprehension of the structure of thermal gradients and the dynamics of internal heat transfer phenomena. For these reasons, a high-fidelity model could be used in place of experimental set-ups during product early development phases. The hybrid custom mesh-1D GT-SUITE model proved to be suitable for the development of alternative architectures for the thermal management circuit, but it could be also coupled with other existing models for analyses at different system levels.