Mahindra Electric Uses System-Level Simulation to Optimize Battery Thermal Management System for an Electric Vehicle

“1D simulation has been used in Mahindra Electric to optimize the BTMS. In this system model, the battery, cooling circuit, and refrigeration circuit were effectively implemented using Simscape. The vehicle, driver, and equivalent circuit model were implemented on the Simulink platform.”

Key Outcomes

  • Created and validated a system-level simulation model for an electric vehicle with battery, cooling circuit, refrigeration circuit, vehicle, and driver
  • Developed concepts and tuned parameters to choose the best components at its best operating point
  • Developed new compressor operation logic and tested it for better energy efficiency

Electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which require an effective but low-power-consuming battery thermal management system (BTMS). The Mahindra Electric team developing algorithms for a BTMS for EVs needed to understand the best configuration of cells for maximum cooling and develop an efficient algorithm for the cooling circuit.

Using prior experience with Model-Based Design, the team created and validated a system-level simulation model for an electric vehicle with battery, cooling circuit, refrigeration circuit, vehicle, driver using Simulink® and Simscape®. They used this model to develop concepts and tune parameters to choose the best components at its best operating point.