Utilization of a solar system to charge lithium-ion batteries and using the heat generated in an in-line lithium-ion battery to heat a guard room

In this research, three packs of cylindrical li-ion batteries inside the air duct used to heat a guard room are simulated numerically. Heat is generated inside lithium batteries due to the electrochemical process. To enhance the performance of the battery, the heat must be rejected; but the generated heat is used as a heating source in this study. The airflow passes through three battery packs and exits. The airflow exits from several outlets. The number of outlets varies from one to five, and their effect is examined. The room is studied in a cold environment and has dimensions of 2 x 3m. Carrier software is employed to estimate the room heat transfer and COMSOL software is used to simulate the battery. The results of this study show that an increment in the velocity increases the pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient (HTRC) in the system, but reduces the outlet temperature (Toutlet) and the maximum temperature (Tmaximum) of the battery. The model with 1 outlet has the lowest Tmaximum of battery cells and the lowest temperature of air outlet, while the model with 3 outlets has the highest Tmaximum of the battery cell and air outlet. Using this system is useful to provide heating energy for the guard room in the notso-cold months and can provide up to 86.95% of the total energy required. But, in the very cold months, the system has a minor effect on the total heat required and provides less than 20% of the total energy needed.

Automated summary

This research numerically simulates the use of cylindrical li-ion battery packs inside an air duct to heat a guard room. The study shows that increasing airflow velocity leads to higher pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient, but lower outlet temperature and maximum battery temperature. The number of outlets can be adjusted to control the heating effect of the system.