Thermal modeling of large prismatic LiFePO4/graphite battery. Coupled thermal and heat generation models for characterization and simulation

• Thermal modeling of a large prismatic LiFePO4/graphite battery.
• Experimental determination of the interfacial thermal resistance between the battery and its cooling system.
• Heat generation modeling including electrical losses and entropic heat.
• Method for electrical parameters determination, considering the cell heating during characterization.

This paper deals with the thermal modeling of a large prismatic Li-ion battery (LiFePO4/graphite). A lumped model representing the main thermal phenomena in the cell, in and outside the casing, is hereby proposed. Most of the parameters are determined analytically using physical and geometrical properties. The heat capacity, the internal and the interfacial thermal resistances between the battery and its cooling system are experimentally identified. On the other hand, the heat sources modeling is considered to be one of the most difficult task. In order to overcome this problem, a heat generation model is included. More specifically, the electrical losses are computed thanks to an electrical model which is represented by an equivalent electric circuit. A method is also proposed for parameter determination which is based on a quasi-steady state assumption. It also takes into account the battery heating during characterization which is the temperature variation due to heat generation during current pulses. This temperature variation is estimated thanks to the coupled thermal and heat generation models. The electrical parameters are determined as function of state of charge (SoC), temperature and current. Finally, the proposed coupled models are experimentally validated with a precision of 1 °C.