Thermal Management of Electric Vehicles

Abstract

The main objective is to focus on reducing the total greenhouse gas emissions in transportation sectors and invest in energy efficiency projects. This induces the rapid development of electric vehicles as it is known as a remedy to tackle air pollution issues faced by local communities. Power batteries, electric motors and automotive inverters are treated as the core and significant components of electric vehicles. They are known as the principal heat contributors within electric vehicles because of releasing a tremendous amount of heat when the vehicles operate. Consequently, it is vital to design an integrated thermal management system for these components to prevent overheating or overcharging. According to their thermal behaviors, this paper provides a review based on the effectiveness of cooling techniques applied to different energy density standard parts. These cooling approaches generally have a great impact on electric vehicles operating efficiency and safety considerations. Furthermore, the experimental results and observations of the relevant thermal management approaches are reviewed. There are three most common cooling approaches which are air cooling (natural or forced convection), liquid cooling (direct or indirect fluid), and phase change material (PCM) that is involved in cooling the electric vehicle's main heat dissipation elements. This paper also discussed possible enhancement for current cooling technologies and the anticipation for the future scope of the impact of thermal needs in terms of the rapid growth of future electric vehicles. Eventually, the analysis of the thermal performance of each cooling method proposed and factors influencing its efficiency are presented.

Keywords: thermal management, EVs: cooling, battery, Environment