Experimental Testing and Evaluation of Lithium-Ion Battery Cells for a Special-Purpose Electric Vacuum Sweeper Vehicle

Battery-powered electric vehicles are gradually expanding their market outside of the typical public and private transportation sector. A good example is a growing demand for electrification of special-purpose vehicles such as compact urban vacuum sweeper trucks. These vehicles are characterized by low production numbers and specific limitations such as restricted volume for battery placement, specific working conditions, requirement to supply electro-hydraulic systems, etc. Therefore, the selection of optimal battery cell and identification of its required characteristics is not a straightforward task. This article addresses this by presenting a methodology for selecting optimal battery cell for compact urban vacuum sweepers. A laboratory testing procedure is established to measure electric and heating characteristics of candidate battery types and battery producers. After evaluation of the experimental test results using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the most appropriate battery cell is selected. The experimental tests and the presented AHP methodology prove that battery cell selection for a specific purpose based solely on manufacturers' datasheet can result in a sub-optimal decision.