Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Temperature consistency–oriented rapid heating strategy combining pulsed

operation and external thermal management for lithium-ion batteries
Yudi Qin a, b, Zhoucheng Xu a, Shengran Xiao c, Ming Gao d, Jian Bai c, Dorothea Liebig e,
Languang Lu a, Xuebing Han a, Yalun Li a, *, Jiuyu Du a, *, Minggao Ouyang a, *
a
School of Vehicle and Mobility, State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China
b
Beijing LianYu Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 100084, PR China
c
Beijing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd., Beijing 100176, PR China
d
Shell (Shanghai) Technology Limited, Building 4, 4560 Jinke Road, Pudong District, Shanghai, 201210, PR China
e
Shell Global Solutions (Deutschland) GmbH, Hohe-Schaar-Straße 36, 21107 Hamburg, Germany

H I G H L I G H T S G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T

• A combined method with a high heating

rate and temperature consistency is
proposed.
•A high-precision thermoelectric
coupling model with an error of under
2 ◦ C is built.
• The layout and temperature of cooling
plates significantly influence heating
effects.
• The proposed method has robust heat­
ing effects for inconsistent actual battery
cells.
• Temperature consistency of combined
heating is 11 times higher than pulsed
heating.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The poor performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) at low temperatures restricts their application in electric
Lithium-ion battery module vehicles (EVs), and existing preheating methods might lead to insufficient temperature consistency and heating
Pulsed heating rates. This study proposes an innovative method that integrates pulsed operation and external liquid circulation
External thermal management
to heat LIBs. Experiments are performed on a LIB module under different conditions; key parameters of the
Cell inconsistency
Uniform heating
proposed method are regarded as indexes to evaluate its heating effect. Furthermore, its temperature consistency
is studied by both experiments and simulations. In particular, inconsistencies of the state of charge (SOC) and
internal resistance among cells, and the heat preservation are examined by experiments. Among all parameters,
the cooling plate layout and coolant temperature are key factors. Under inconsistent conditions, the increase in
the temperature difference is less than 2 ◦ C, even when the internal resistance of peripheral cells is 50% higher
than that of other cells. For on-board applications with better heat preservation, the temperature difference can
be maintained within 1 ◦ C during heating from − 20 ◦ C to 6 ◦ C in 300 s, and the temperature consistency is 11
times better than that of pulsed heating only. Overall, the proposed combined heating method achieves high
heating rates while ensuring excellent temperature consistency and robust performance for practical applications

* Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: liyalun@tsinghua.edu.cn (Y. Li), dujiuyu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn (J. Du), ouymg@tsinghua.edu.cn (M. Ouyang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120659
Received 7 October 2022; Received in revised form 1 January 2023; Accepted 6 January 2023
Available online 9 February 2023
0306-2619/© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

of EV packs. It offers significant prospects in addressing the cell degradation and potential safety hazards of LIBs
at low temperatures.

Nomenclature h heat transfer coefficient,W/(cm2 •K)

m battery mass, kg
Tn− i thermocouples in battery module c battery heat capacity, J /(Kg2 •K)
Uocv open-circuit voltage (V) λ thermal conductivity,W/(m • K)
TSide± thermocouples on two sides of module q heat flux density,W/(m • s)
TAmb thermocouple for ambient temperature Tmax maximum temperature, ◦ C
TTab± thermocouple on two tabs Tmin minimum temperature, ◦ C
TSide - L/R - in thermocouple at side cooling plate inlet T0 initial temperature, ◦ C
TSide - L/R - out thermocouple at side cooling plate outlet TC temperature consistency coefficient
TBot - in/out thermocouple at bottom cooling plate inlet or outlet
Subscripts, superscripts, and acronyms
IP positive pulse current value, A ◦
C degrees Celsius
IN negative pulse current value, A
¡, þ electric polarities
TP positive pulse current duration, s
AC alternating current
TN negative pulse current duration, s
ARC accelerating rate calorimeter
Qall total heat generation, J /(cm2 •s)
BTMS battery thermal management system
Qpulse heat generation by pulse current, J /(cm2 •s)
C-rate charge/discharge current w.r.t battery capacity
Qplate heat generation by cooling plate, J /(cm2 •s) CC constant current
Qn heat dissipation, J /(cm2 •s) CV constant voltage
QJ joule heat, J /(cm2 •s) DC direct current
QR reaction heat, J /(cm2 •s) ESS energy storage system
QO ohmic heat, J /(cm2 •s) EV electric vehicles
QP polarization heat, J /(cm2 •s) HPPC hybrid pulse power characteristic
RO ohmic internal resistance, Ω LIB lithium-ion battery
RP polarization internal resistance, Ω max maximum
φE effective entropy potential, V min minimum
Tbat battery temperature, ◦ C NCM nickel manganese cobalt oxide
Tamb ambient temperature, ◦ C OCV open-circuit voltage
Tplate cooling plate temperature, ◦ C PCM phase change material
S battery surface area,cm2 SOC state of charge (0–1)

uneven temperature distribution. These may influence users’ experi­

1. Introduction
Electrification is a mainstream of future energy systems in light of
their goals of near-zero emissions and carbon neutralization [1–3]. Due
to their high energy density, long cycle life, low self-discharge rate, and
lack of memory effect, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in
electrical transportation, energy storage systems (ESSs), and future
power grids [4–6]. However, low temperatures considerably influence
the performance and applications of LIBs [7–11]. The intercalation and
de-intercalation of lithium ions are significantly affected during low-
temperature charging or discharging. The electrolyte conductivity
[12] and charge transfer kinetics [13] of an LIB slow down, and metallic
lithium plating appears on the anode surface. Consequently, battery
polarization and internal resistance increase [14,15], and capacity and
life span decline [16,17]. Furthermore, the lithium plating may result in
the growth of lithium dendrites, which trigger internal short circuit and
thermal runaway accidents [18,19]. Therefore, the preheating function
of battery thermal management systems (BTMSs) is critical for ensuring
the safety, capacity, life span, and fast charging ability of LIBs [20,21].
According to the position of the heat source, existing preheating
methods can be classified into two types: external and internal heating
[20]. External methods utilize hot air, liquid [11,22–24], phase change
material (PCM) [25–28], or electrothermal elements [29–33] as heat
sources outside LIBs. External liquid thermal management performs
preheating and cooling functions at a relatively low cost [34,35].
However, it has a low heating rate, inferior energy efficiency, and
ence, system performance, and battery life span [36]. As regards the
internal method, a battery is heated by internal methods through joule
heat from internal resistance and applied current. These solutions have
superior heating rates and temperature consistency compared with
external approaches [34,37–39]. Direct current (DC) heating adopts a
simple constant discharge current conveniently, but this technique
severely affects battery life span [40,41]. Alternating current (AC)
heating helps alleviate degradation, but the charging power is restricted
due to current limitations [42–45].
Pulsed heating is an internal heating method where bidirectional
pulse currents are applied to LIBs. Compared with the abovementioned
strategies, pulsed operation has significant advantages in terms of the
heating rate, heating efficiency, degradation impact, and temperature
consistency [43–50]. A previous work [51] achieved a notable heating
rate of 11 ◦ C/min, and the battery capacity loss was controlled within
1% after 1000 cycles of bidirectional pulsed heating. Ji and Wang ach­
ieved an energy efficiency of over 80% [34]. Dai et al. obtained excellent
temperature consistency for a pouch cell under a high-amplitude bidi­
rectional pulsed current, with a maximum temperature variation of 2 ◦ C
[48]. In their previous work, Dai et al. [52] systematically studied the
module temperature distribution during pulsed heating under incon­
sistent working conditions and verified the high robustness of the
heating effects. For certain applications, pulsed heating can be adopted
in the charging process to realize preheating via bidirectional chargers
[53–55], such as charging piles with vehicle-to-grid functions [56]. In
ESSs or battery swapping stations, mutual pulsed heating between packs

2
Y. Qin et al.
is a promising solution to problems caused by low temperatures [57]. In
addition, a motor and an inverter can exert mutual pulses for LIB packs
[58,59].
However, in actual applications of pulsed heating, the heat generated
by a battery core makes the interior warmer than the periphery for both
the cell and the module. Although its overall performance is better than
that of external heating methods, the temperature inconsistency needs
to be addressed to reduce its negative influence on the LIB life span [36].
Fig. 1. Experimental platform.
3
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
To enhance the temperature consistency and heating rate of LIBs, this
work proposes a combined heating method that integrates bidirectional
pulsed operation and external liquid circulation.
In this study, the impacts of different parameters related to pulsed
heating and external liquid circulation are analyzed through experi­
ments, and the combined heating performance is examined. With the use
of a high-precision thermoelectric coupling model for LIB modules, the
performance of the combined method under inconsistent working
Y. Qin et al.
conditions and heat transfer environments is studied. The comprehen­
sive evaluation results in this work provide guidance for the practical
application of combined heating. The remainder of this paper is orga­
nized as follows: In Section 2, the experimental platform and methods
and the simulation model are described. In Section 3, the heating effects
of pulsed operation, external liquid thermal management, and the pro­
posed combined method are studied through experiments. Furthermore,
the different factors affecting their heating performance are analyzed. In
Section 4, the influences of battery cell inconsistency and heat preser­
vation changes on combined heating performance are revealed by
simulation. Then, the combined method is comprehensively compared
with pulsed heating, and its practical application potential is evaluated.
Finally, the main findings and future prospects are summarized in the
conclusion section.
2. Heating experiments of combined thermal management
method
2.1. Construction of experimental platform
The studied LIB module contains 12 battery cells. Each one is a 37 Ah
nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NCM) prismatic LIB cell. The proposed
combined heating method is an integrated system combining pulse
current generation and external liquid circulation. The experimental
platform contains two parts, as shown in Fig. 1(a): pulsed current
operation and external liquid circulation. For pulsed heating, the battery
test system applies a bidirectional square wave pulse current on the
module and obtains feedback voltage data. The current amplitudes are
2C (74 A) and 3C (111 A). The positive and negative pulse periods are
both 2 s and the pulse current does not have intervals. In external cir­
culation, the coolant reaches the preset temperature and flow rate
through the water chiller. Then, the coolant participates in the heating
process by the channels and cooling plates. The incubator provides a
constant ambient temperature, and the data collector acquires infor­
mation from each thermocouple. The cooling plates, which are installed
on the sides and bottom of the module (Fig. 1(b)), are arranged parallel
to each other to avoid excessive pressure loss or uneven flow rate dis­
tribution. The thermocouple arrangement is shown in Fig. 1(c). The
module is dissected, and three thermocouples (Tn− 1 to Tn− 3 ) are placed
on each contact face between battery cells. The other thermocouples are
used to collect the ambient temperature (thermocouple TAmb ) and the
temperatures on two sides (thermocouples TSide + and TSide - ), the two
tabs (thermocouples TTab + and TTab - ), and the side and bottom cooling
plate inlets and outlets (thermocouplesTSide - L/R - in ,TSide - L/R - out , and
TBot - in/out ) of the battery module.
2.2. Basic test and experiment
The internal resistance and effective entropy potential of the battery
module are obtained. Then, its low-temperature characteristics and
thermal parameters are measured for simulation.
A hybrid pulse power characteristic (HPPC) test is conducted to
determine the battery open-circuit voltage (OCV; Uocv ) and ohmic and
polarization internal resistance at different temperatures and currents.
The pulse and pause periods are both 30 s. The effective entropy po­
tential is obtained from the OCVs at different states of charge (SOCs) and
temperatures. The SOC and temperature ranges are 0%–100% and
253–328 K. These tests are performed using the incubator and battery
test system. The incubator maintains a constant temperature, and the
battery test system applies a constant current (CC) or constant voltage
(CV) to each cell during the monitoring of voltage data. The specific heat
capacity is obtained using the battery weight, heat generation, and
temperature rise. In this test, the thermocouples are arranged in the
inner and outer centers of two 0% SOC battery cores. Then, the cell is
weighed and placed in a calibrated accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC),
4
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
which can ensure an adiabatic environment. For heat conduction, the
battery thermal conductivity is anisotropic because of the multilayer
laminated structure of the core. These parameters are obtained by
monitoring the temperature responses of the different battery parts to
local heating by a ceramic plate in the ARC. Five thermocouples are
installed outside the cell core at even intervals. Then, simulations are
performed to determine the thermal conductivity comprehensively. The
battery parameters are shown in Table 1.
After the battery parameters are obtained, the module is subjected to
experiments. Before every heating process, the module remains in the
incubator until it reaches thermal equilibrium with the testing envi­
ronment. At ambient temperatures of 11.5 ◦ C, − 8◦ C, and − 18 ◦ C, the
cooling process consumes 3 h, 5 h, and 10 h, respectively. In the heating
process, every platform part works together to heat the module, as
described in the above section, while the temperature data are moni­
tored and recorded. During the experiments, the battery voltage is
controlled between 2.7 V and 4.2 V to avoid reaching the cutoff voltage.
3. Influence of inconsistent battery cells and different heat
preservation on heating effect
The impact of inconsistent cells and heat preservation on combined
heating effects is difficult to analyze through experiments, as battery cell
parameters and heat transfer coefficients cannot be controlled accu­
rately on experimental platforms. Therefore, a thermoelectric coupling
model is built in COMSOL to study the influence of above-mentioned
factors on combined heating effects. This model mainly includes geo­
metric and thermoelectric parts.
Each battery cell in the module consists of two parallel-connected
coiling cores, two tabs, the battery case, and the top cover. The geo­
metric model is built according to the actual size and material of the
battery module, as shown in Fig. 2(a). The top covers are plastic, and the
negative and positive tabs are made of copper and aluminum, respec­
tively. The shape and physical parameters of the battery cores are set
according to the basic test results. In addition, the side cooling plates are
made of aluminum, and the structure of the internal flow channel is the
same as that of the real experiment equipment. For the thermoelectric
part, the Rint equivalent circuit model is adopted for heat generation
based on the following formulas:
Qpulse = QR + QJ (1)
ΔUocv
QR = IT = IφE (2)
ΔT
Q J = Q O + Q P = I 2 RO + I 2 RP (3)
where the total heat generation of pulsed operation (Qpulse ) consists
of reaction heat (QR ) and joule heat (QJ ). The reaction heat is calculated
from the effective entropy potential (φE ) and current (I), and φE is
determined by battery temperature (T) and OCV (UOCV ), which is ob­
tained in the basic tests. Joule heat includes ohmic heat (QO ) and po­
larization heat (QP ). The ohmic and polarization internal resistance
values (RO and RP ) are obtained through the HPPC tests. The
Table 1
Parameters of the battery.
Items Value
Battery size 148 mm × 91.6 mm × 21.8 mm
Working voltage 2.7–4.2 V
Battery capacity 37 Ah
Heat capacity 1100 J/kg/K
Various thermal conductivity 24.8 W/(m⋅K) (y direction)
24.8 W/(m⋅K) (z direction)
1.95 W/(m⋅K) (x direction)
Battery density 2630 kg/m3
Battery mass 0.82 kg
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

Fig. 2. Simulation results.

temperature rise is based on the following relationship: conduction, radiation, and convection. The heat convection occurs in
the fluid and the heat is transferred with the flow. The heat exchange
ΔT 1
= [Qall − Qn ] (4) between the module and the environment in the incubator mainly relies
Δt mc
on the direct contact with the flowing air, and the heat conduction and
where Qall is the total heat production, m and c are the battery mass radiation process are ignorable [11,60]. As a result, only convection
and thermal capacity, respectively. Heat dissipation (Qn ) includes heat transfer is considered in the heat dissipation, and the temperature

5
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

rising and distribution of the module are based on this assumption. The should remain stable during heating to avoid changes in the battery
convection heat transfer power follows: internal resistance. Therefore, the pulse current follows
∑
k1 ∑
k2 IP × TP = − IN × TN (10)
Qn = hi Si (Tbat(i) − Tamb(i) ) + hi Si (Tplate(i) − Tamb(i) ) (5)
i=1 i=1 where IP and IN are the positive and negative pulse current values,
whose durations are TP andTN , respectively. The amplitude ratio (IP /IN )
The surface of the battery module that directly contacts the envi­
in this study is 1:1, and the integral of the pulse current in one cycle is
ronment is divided into k1 parts, and the surface attached to the cooling
zero.
plates is divided into k2 parts. The thermal exchanges of the subdomains
In the study of the impact of battery cell inconsistency, cells 1, 3, and 6
are adjusted separately in the simulation. In Eq. (5), hi and Si are the
(Fig. 2(a)) are chosen as representative locations, and the SOC and in­
heating transfer coefficient and the area of surface regioni,
ternal resistance are changed accordingly. On the other hand, in the
respectively.Tplate(i) ,Tbat(i) , and Tamb(i) are the temperatures of the cooling
simulation model, the data of each thermocouple is calibrated with
plate, battery module surface, and environment, respectively, in regioni.
experiment, and all thermal parameters in the model are set according to
In the calibration process, as the only unknown parameters that needs to
the real material. Therefore, the heat conduction and temperature dis­
be obtained, hi is continuously adjusted to maximize the simulation
tribution of the battery module in the simulation match the real situation,
accuracy compared with the experimental data.
and the temperature data at each location of the battery are reasonable. In

⎧
⎪ ΔUOCV
⎪
⎪
⎪ Qpulse = − ITabs + I 2 RO + I 2 RP (Pulsed heating)
⎪
⎨ ΔT
Qall = Qplate (External liquid heating) (6)
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎩ Qpulse + Qplate = − ITabs ΔUOCV + I 2 RO + I 2 RP + Qplate (Combined heating)
⎪
ΔT

Heat production (Qall ) is determined by Eq. (6). Qpulse and Qplate the simulation, the arrangement of thermocouplesTn− 1 ,Tn− 2 , and Tn− 3 is
denote heat generation by the pulse current and cooling plates, changed from horizontal to diagonal. Moreover, thermocouples Tn− 4 and
respectively, which are both considered in the combined method. In the Tn− 5 are placed between the module and cooling plates, as shown in Fig. 2
simulation model, the heating power of the cooling plate is adjusted by (b). As the battery core is the most essential part of the battery, it is
the PID controller to ensure the constant temperature. The cooling plate necessary to pay attention to the temperature difference and temperature
on both sides and bottom has different heating power which follows: distribution in the core area. This arrangement can improve the detection
∫ effect of the module temperature distribution in corresponding area and
QPID (t) = KP × (TSet − Tplate (t)) + KI × (TSet − Tplate (t))dt + KD give a more comprehensive evaluation of the heating effect.
A high-precision thermoelectric coupling model is built based on the
d(TSet − Tplate (t)) above description in Section 3. The comparison between the simulation
× (7)
dt and experimental results is shown in Fig. 2(c)(d)(e). The scenarios are as
⎧ follows: pulsed operation (2C 4 s, which denotes a pulse amplitude of 2C
⎨ Qplate\_L (QPID (t) < Qplate\_L )
Qplate (t) = QPID (t) (Qplate\_L < QPID (t) < Qplate\_U ) (8) [74 A] and a pulse period of 4 s) at − 18 ◦ C, external liquid circulation
⎩
Qplate\_U (QPID (t) > Qplate\_U ) (25 ◦ C 3 L/min water) at 11.5 ◦ C, and combined heating (2C 4 s pulse

where theKP ,KI , KD are three coefficients in the PID controller. TSet is
the preset temperature of the coolant, Tplate is the temperature of the Table 2
cooling plate center. Qplate\_U and Qplate\_L are the maximum and mini­ The accuracy of simulation model.
mum heating power of the cooling plates. The internal thermal con­ Working conditions Maximum error between
duction of the module, which is essential for temperature distribution, is experiments and
Ambient Pulsed External SOC
anisotropic. In this study, Fourier’s law is adopted for heat conduction temperature current liquid
simulations in TSim for Tn− 2

inside the battery module. thermocouples

2 ◦C 2C 4 s / 20%/ 1.06 ◦ C (TSim =1200 s)

ΔT 40%/
qx = − λx
Δx 60%/
80%
ΔT − 8◦ C 2C 4 s / 20%/ 1.33 ◦ C (TSim =1200 s)
qy = − λy (9)
Δy 40%/
60%/
ΔT 80%
qz = − λz − 18 ◦ C 2C 4 s / 20%/ 1.51 ◦ C (TSim =1200 s)
Δz 40%/
whereλx ,λy , and λz are thermal conductivities in three directions, as 60%/
80%
shown in Fig. 2(a), and they are obtained through the basic tests. q
− 18 ◦ C 1C 4 s / 20% 0.96 ◦ C (TSim =1200 s)
represents the heat flux density along a certain direction.ΔT ,ΔT , and ΔT
Δx Δy Δz − 18 ◦ C 3C 4 s / 20% 1.67 ◦ C (TSim =1200 s)
are the module heating rates along thex,y, and z directions, respectively. 11.5 ◦ C / 25 ◦ C 3 L/ 20% 1.55 ◦ C (TSim =1500 s)
min water
This study focuses on the battery temperature rise and distribution
11.5 ◦ C 2C 4 s 25 ◦ C 3 L/ 20%/ 1.64 ◦ C (TSim =1200 s)
with combined heating method, and the basic tests have shown that the min water 40%/
battery internal resistance changes with the SOC. To study the heating 60%/
effects of the pulsed operation under different SOCs, the battery SOC 80%

6
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

current, 25 ◦ C 3 L/min water) at 11.5 ◦ C. The Table 2 shows the studied. The temperature consistency coefficient (TC) is defined as fol­
maximum errors between the experiments and simulations among Tn− 2 lows to represent this evaluation index well:
thermocouples during different working conditions. TSim is the time of
[(Tmax − T0 ) + (Tmin − T0 )] 1t
simulation, The maximum error between the simulation and experi­ TC = (11)
ments under different heating methods and working conditions is less 2(Tmax − Tmin )
than 2 ◦ C. where Tmax and Tmin are the maximum and minimum temperatures,
Various factors influencing module temperature consistency are respectively, of all thermocouples after heating for timet, and T0 is the

Fig. 3. Experimental results of pulsed operation and external liquid circulation.

7
Y. Qin et al.
initial value. Therefore, TC is the ratio of the average heating rate and
the maximum temperature difference. A rapid temperature rise or a
small temperature difference increasesTC, that is, improves temperature
consistency and heating performance.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Pulsed operation and external liquid circulation experiments
For pulsed operation, the impacts of the initial SOC, pulsed ampli­
tude, and ambient temperature are studied through experiments. To
make the results more convincing, all the experiments are repeated for
three times and the data are averaged. The maximum error between
different groups is less than 0.5 ◦ C. The battery cell and module voltages
under pulsed current are shown in Fig. 3(a) and (b). At the ambient
temperature of − 18 ◦ C, the cell voltage range is initially large because of
the high internal resistance. As the temperature rises, its range gradually
shrinks and stabilizes. The module voltage range changes more
smoothly at the ambient temperature of 11.5 ◦ C. In the entire heating
process, the battery cell voltage is kept between 2.7 V and 4.2 V to
ensure normal operation. In each group of experiment, there is only one
variable that is labeled on the horizontal axis. In the − 18 ◦ C environ­
ment, the module is heated from different initial SOCs (20%, 40%, 60%,
and 80%) under the 2C (74 A) 4 s pulse current. The minimum and
maximum heating rates and the maximum temperature differences are
shown in Fig. 3(c). As the initial SOC increases, the internal resistance
and the heating rate decline. The maximum heating rate in the first 300 s
reaches 2.67 ◦ C/min at the initial SOC of 20%, and it drops to 2.26 ◦ C/
min when the initial SOC is 80%. The amplitude and period of the pulse
current are also influencing factors. As the amplitude increases from 1C
(4 s) to 3C (4 s), the battery heat production power increases, the
maximum heating rate rises by 5.6 times from 0.66 ◦ C/min to 3.72 ◦ C/
min, as shown in Fig. 3(d). The pulse period has little impact on the
heating effect. As the period of the 2C pulse current changes from 4 s to
8 s and to 16 s, the maximum heating rate in the first 300 s increases
slightly from 1.86 ◦ C/min to 1.94 ◦ C/min and to 1.95 ◦ C/min, respec­
tively. The main reason is that the battery SOC is constant under the
pulsed condition of equal positive and negative amplitude, and the heat
production power does not change with the pulse period. The maximum
temperature difference also increases with the amplitude, whereas the
impact of the pulse period is negligible. In the first 300 s, the tempera­
ture difference under the 1C 4 s pulse current is 0.51 ◦ C, and it rises by
six times under the 3C 4 s pulse current. The battery module is also
heated in different environments, as shown in Fig. 3(e). The maximum
heating rate in the first 300 s drops from 2.5 ◦ C/min to 0.6 ◦ C/min as the
ambient temperature increases from − 18 ◦ C to 12 ◦ C. This is caused by
the significant decline of battery internal resistance in higher tempera­
ture. At the same time, the maximum temperature difference declines
from 1.3 ◦ C to 0.3 ◦ C. Since the heat in the pulsed operation is generated
from the battery core and transferred to the outside, the internal tem­
perature will inevitably be higher than the external. Under lower
ambient temperature, the temperature difference will increase as the
heat exchange with the environment is greater. Therefore, a lower
ambient temperature contributes to a higher heating rate but a more
uneven temperature distribution.
As for external liquid circulation, the cooling plate layout plays an
essential role in temperature rise. In this research, the module is heated
using three cooling plate layouts, namely, three-side, two-side, and
bottom layouts, as shown in Fig. 3(f). At the 11.5 ◦ C ambient tempera­
ture, the three-side layout yields the highest heating rate (0.43 ◦ C/min)
and the maximum temperature difference at 1200 s. The bottom layout
results in a more uniform temperature distribution, but the heating rate
is only 0.18 ◦ C/min. Considering the temperature rise, the three-side
layout performs the best, as three cooling plates can provide higher
heat production power. Fig. 3(g) shows the impact of the coolant tem­
perature on the heating rate in this layout. As the coolant warms up from
8
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
25 ◦ C to 35 ◦ C, the maximum heating rate at 1200 s rises from 0.42 ◦ C/
min to 0.61 ◦ C/min. Meanwhile, the temperature difference changes
from 3 ◦ C to 6.9 ◦ C at 300 s. Therefore, a high coolant temperature
causes rapid heating and uneven temperature distribution due to the
stronger heat generation and dissipation. By contrast, the coolant type
and flow rate barely have any effect, as demonstrated in Fig. 3(h) and (i).
As the coolant flow rate changes from 3 L/min to 6 L/min or the coolant
type varies, the temperature fluctuates within 0.5 ◦ C. This may be due to
the flowing liquid of the constant temperature can be seen as a heat
source with stable temperature and power. The heat power is mainly
related to the temperature and cooling plate layout, and the impact of
liquid physical parameters is small. The physical property parameters of
different coolants are listed in Table 3. Here,CP ,ρ,λ, and μ represent heat
capacity, density, heat conductivity, and viscosity, respectively. Finally,
the heating rate and temperature difference both enlarge with time, as
shown in Fig. 3(j).
In summary, for pulsed heating, the module heating rate and tem­
perature difference both rise rapidly under a high pulse amplitude or
frigid ambient environment, whereas the influence of pulse period and
initial SOC is small. For external liquid circulation, the three-side cool­
ing plate layout and a high coolant temperature enhance external
heating performance, whereas the coolant type and flow rate have
negligible effects.
4.2. Combined heating experiments
In light of the above experimental results, the three-side cooling
plate layout and 25 ◦ C 3 L/min water are adopted in the combined
heating system. The temperature of the Tn− 2 thermocouple group rises
uniformly in the first 600 s under the 2C (74 A) 4 s pulse current at the
ambient temperature of 11.5 ◦ C, as shown in Fig. 4(a). At 1200 s, the
maximum temperature increases 15.6 ◦ C. Thermocouple T2− 2 exhibits
significantly rapid heating due to better heat absorption and less dissi­
pation. The results of thermocouples TSide± and TTab± are different from
those of the preceding thermocouple group, as demonstrated in Fig. 4
(b). The positive tab has a higher resistance and considerably higher
heating rate, reaching 10.2 ◦ C/min in the first 200 s under the 3C pulse
current. The negative tab has a smaller temperature rise because of the
lower tab internal resistance, and its difference from TTab + exceeds
35 ◦ C under 3C heating. TSide + and TSide - have similar change trends as
they are symmetrically arranged on the battery module; the maximum
temperature difference is less than 2 ◦ C. For the coolant inlets and
outlets, the temperature rises evenly to the preset value and fluctuates
around it due to the control delay of the water chiller. The heating rate of
the inlets and outlets in the first 600 s is 1.3 ◦ C/min, which is higher than
that inside the module, as shown in Fig. 4(c).
The temperature distribution of the Tn− 2 thermocouple group is
displayed in Fig. 4(d). The peripheral temperature is higher than the
temperatures of the other areas in the whole heating process, as the
temperature of peripheral cooling plates is higher than that of the bat­
tery core in heating process. Under 2C 4 s combined heating with 25 ◦ C
3 L/min water, the temperature rise of T5− 2 (near the middle part) in
300 s is only 3.9 ◦ C, whereas that of T11− 2 (outer area) rises by merely
4.6 ◦ C. T11− 2 and T4− 2 consistently have the maximum and minimum
temperatures, with temperature increases of 15.9 ◦ C and 11.7 ◦ C,
respectively, in 1200 s. Fig. 4(e) shows the heating rate and the
Table 3
Physical property parameters of different coolants.
Coolant type CP (kJ/(Kg⋅K)) ρ (Kg/m3 ) λ (W/(m⋅K)) μ (Pa⋅s)
(20 ◦ C)
Water 4.18 1000.00 0.5992 0.001005
RELC NF 50/50 3.47 1000.48 0.4032 0.004135
RELC NF 20/80 3.92 1000.46 0.5075 0.001745
HDPF 50/50 3.48 1000.31 0.4019 0.004135
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

Fig. 4. Experimental results of combined heating. (pulsed current: 2C 4 s; coolant: 25 ◦ C 3 L/min water; ambient temperature: 11.5 ◦ C; SOC: 20%).

9
Y. Qin et al.
maximum temperature difference of the battery module in certain time
periodti . The maximum and minimum heating rates in the first 600 s are
1 ◦ C/min and 0.74 ◦ C/min, respectively, and they decrease to 0.8 ◦ C/
min and 0.59 ◦ C/min in first 1200 s, as the higher temperature of the
battery module contributes greater heat dissipation power. The tem­
perature difference shows an opposite trend; it increases in the first 600 s
and remains stable in the next stage. This is mainly because the internal
and external temperature of the battery module gradually approach as
the heat transfer inside the battery.
4.3. Combined heating simulation
The heating effect of the combined heating method at a lower
ambient temperature is analyzed through high-precision simulation
models. Under the ambient temperature of − 20 ◦ C, the combined
heating approach outperforms the other systems, as shown in Fig. 5(a).
The Fig. 5(b) demonstrates the thermodynamic diagram of the battery
module at 300 s with three different heating method. In the first 300 s,
combined heating achieves a 5.1 ◦ C/min heating rate under the 3C
pulsed amplitude. By contrast, the heating rates of pulsed operation and
external liquid circulation are merely 4.8 ◦ C/min and 2.0 ◦ C/min,
respectively. Moreover, the combined heating method significantly op­
timizes the module temperature consistency. The minimum heating rate
Fig. 5. Comparison of heating effects of three heating methods. (pulsed current: 3C 4 s / 2C 4 s; coolant: 25 ◦ C 3 L/min water; ambient temperature: − 20 ◦ C;
SOC: 20%).
10
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
under the 3C pulse current is 3.96 ◦ C/min for combined heating, which
is 1.57 times that of pulsed operation and 7.07 times that of external
liquid circulation. Temperature consistency (TC) is enhanced evidently
due to this obvious reduction in the temperature difference. The TC of
the combined method is 1.51min - 1 , which is 3.3 times higher than that
of pulsed heating using the 2C current. Nevertheless, the TC is notably
affected by the pulse amplitude due to the increase in temperature dif­
ference. With the current changing from 2C to 3C, the TC of the com­
bined method drops from 1.51 min - 1 to 0.79min - 1 . In the combined
heating, the internal and external heat sources provide higher heating
power. On the other hand, when there is a single heat source, the heat in
the module only transfers unidirectionally (only from inside to outside
or from outside to inside). However, this problem is solved in the
combined heating, so the proposed method markedly improves both the
heating rate and TC.
4.3.1. Influence of internal resistance inconsistency
This section discusses the performance of combined heating under an
inconsistent internal resistance. Changes in cell resistance directly affect
heat generation and temperature distribution. In practical applications,
the internal resistance of cells can differ by ± 50% [80]. Accordingly,
different internal resistance values are set for cells No. 1, 3, and 6
(Fig. 2), and a series of simulations is conducted.
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

The ratio of the internal resistance of cell × to those of the other cells difference. In the simulations, the external liquid circulation system uses
(Rx /ROthers ) changes from 0.5 to 1.5. The resistance changes of different water with a temperature of 25 ◦ C and a flow rate of 3 L/min, the
cell positions have various impacts on the maximum temperature ambient temperature is − 20 ◦ C, and the initial SOC is 20%.

Fig. 6. Influence of internal resistance inconsistency on heating effects and temperature distribution at 300 s (pulse current: 2C 4 s / 3C 4 s; ambient tempera­
ture: − 20 ◦ C).

11
Y. Qin et al.
Fig. 6. (continued).
WhenRx /ROthers > 1, a greater Rx yields a higher maximum temperature.
Moreover, the heating effect is more sensitive to internal resistance
inconsistency under a greater amplitude. The maximum temperature
increases from 5.75 ◦ C to 7.57 ◦ C under the 3C amplitude and from 2 ◦ C
to 2.92 ◦ C under 2C in 300 s when R1 /ROthers changes from 100% to
150%, as shown in Fig. 6(a). This finding is similar to those of increases
in the internal resistance of cells No. 3 and 6. WhenRx /ROthers < 1, the
positions of inconsistent cells are also crucial. The peripheral cells have a
greater influence on heating performance than the other cells. The
temperature difference rises by 0.46 ◦ C as R3 /ROthers declines to 50%
under 3C pulsed heating, but it unexpectedly decreases by 0.36 ◦ C under
the same change in cell No. 6, as shown in Fig. 6(b) and (c). Therefore,
the internal resistance inconsistency influences the temperature differ­
ence. A decline in the internal resistance of peripheral cells can further
reduce the temperature difference. In addition, the heating performance
under a greater amplitude is more sensitive to inconsistent conditions.
The maximum and minimum temperatures of the battery module
12
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
have similar changing rules under different pulse amplitudes. The
maximum temperature is almost constant whenRx /ROthers less than 1. As
R1 /ROthers increases from 50% to 100% under the 3C pulse current, the
maximum temperature varies only from 5.53 ◦ C to 5.56 ◦ C. Neverthe­
less, it grows rapidly as soon asRx /ROthers > 1. The maximum tempera­
ture increases 1.82 ◦ C and 1.18 ◦ C under 3C and 2C pulsed heating in
300 s when R1 /ROthers increases from 100% to 150%, as shown in Fig. 6
(a). By contrast, a small Rx /ROthers or an inconsistency in the peripheral
cells reduces the minimum temperature. The minimum value drops by
1.4 ◦ C and 0.81 ◦ C under the 3C and 4C pulse current as R1 /ROthers de­
creases from 100% to 50%, as Fig. 6(a) shows. Nevertheless, the mini­
mum temperature remains relatively stable, declining by just 0.57 ◦ C
and 0.04 ◦ C under 3C pulsed heating when cell 3 or 6 is inconsistent, as
shown in Fig. 6(b) and (c). WhenRx /ROthers > 1, the inconsistency of the
peripheral cells has a slightly greater impact. The minimum temperature
under the 2C pulse current increases by 0.25 ◦ C and 0.02 ◦ C when R3 /
ROthers and R6 /ROthers rise from 100% to 150%, as shown in Fig. 6(b) and
Y. Qin et al. Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659

(c). Hence, the inconsistent peripheral cells impact the maximum and The impact of internal resistance inconsistency on TC under com­
minimum temperatures more evidently. In addition, the variation of the bined heating and pulsed operation is demonstrated in Fig. 6(d). The
minimum temperature is more sensitive to the current amplitude temperature consistency of the combined method is significantly better
compared with the maximum. than that of pulsed heating, although the TC variation range is larger for

Fig. 7. Impact of heat transfer coefficients and comprehensive analysis (the ambient temperature in (a)–(d) is − 20 ◦ C).

13
Y. Qin et al.
Fig. 7. (continued).
combined heating. This is mainly because the external heat source can
effectively balance the uneven temperature distribution inside the
module caused by the internal resistance inconsistency. When the tem­
perature is higher somewhere inside, the heat can be absorbed and
transferred by the external cooling plates; when the temperature is
lower somewhere inside, the insufficient internal heating power can be
supplemented by the external heat source. For instance, the TC under 2C
pulsed heating declines from 1.51 min - 1 to 1.05 min - 1 when R1 /ROthers
changes from 100% to 50% or 150%. For pulsed heating, TC fluctuates
little around 0.35min - 1 . On the contrary, the TC of combined heating
noticeably decreases as the pulse amplitude rises. Given uniform inter­
nal resistance values of the cells, the TC of 2C combined heating is
1.51min - 1 , but it is only 0.79 min - 1 for 3C combined heating.
The simulation results demonstrate that in cases with internal
resistance inconsistency, combined heating has evident advantages in
TC over pulsed heating. In particular, TC can be enhanced by 3.3 times.
In addition, the internal resistance changes of peripheral cells signifi­
cantly affect TC.
4.3.2. Influence of heat preservation
Heat preservation directly affects the thermal dissipation and TC of a
battery module. In actual applications of battery modules, heat ex­
change with the environment is significantly weaker compared with
experimental conditions, as a test module in an incubator directly con­
tacts flowing cold air. This section elucidates the impact of different heat
transfer coefficients on the temperature difference. These coefficients
are mainly scaled down for the simulations. First, the standard heat
transfer coefficient (h) is defined. For pulsed heating, h is the combi­
nation of heat transfer coefficients in the 3C 4 s scenario at − 20 ◦ C. In
combined heating at the ambient temperature of − 20 ◦ C, h is the
combination of heat transfer coefficients in the 3C 4 s scenario with
25 ◦ C 3 L/min water circulation. Thus, h is a lumped parameter repre­
senting the heat preservation of the entire module. Then, h /h = k means
′
changing the coefficients of each surface region in Eq. (5) by proportion
k while the experimental conditions remain the same. The transfer co­
efficients of pulsed operation and combined heating are adjusted, and
the changes in the temperature range and TC are shown in Fig. 7(a) and
(b).
For pulsed heating, the maximum temperature is almost constant
while the minimum temperature declines with the heat transfer co­
14
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
efficients, leading to a gradual rise in the temperature difference. As h /h
′
increases from 0.5 to 1.6, the temperature difference grows by 1.6 times
from 8.7 ◦ C to 13.6 ◦ C under 3C pulsed heating. Moreover, the minimum
value drops from − 4.1 ◦ C to − 9.07 ◦ C, as shown in Fig. 7(a). The
temperature difference of the module has an approximate linear rela­
tionship withh /h, and different current amplitudes correspond to
′
similar slopes. In terms of temperature consistency, a decline in heat
preservation slightly enlarges TC, although it remains at a low value. h /
′
h and TC approximately meet the following quadratic polynomial
relation:
′ ′ ′
TC = 0.0479 × (h /h)2 − 0.2146 × (h /h) + 0.4852 (h /h
∈ [0.1, 2]) (R2 = 0.9994)
For combined heating, the minimum temperature rises rapidly
whenh /h < 1. In Fig. 7(b), the minimum temperature changes from −
′
0.19 C to 5.48 ◦ C as h /h changes from 1 to 0.1. When h /h is less than
◦ ′ ′
0.3, the maximum temperature increases noticeably as more heat will be
transferred to the battery module rather than the heat exchange with the
ambient environment. The impact of heat preservation is relatively
small whenh /h > 1. The maximum and minimum temperatures reach
′
0.05 ◦ C and 1.58 ◦ C, respectively, as h increases to 2h. The changing rule
′
of TC is different from that of pulsed heating. TC rapidly rises from 0.79
min - 1 to 5.64 min - 1 by a surprising 6.14 times as the transfer co­
efficients decrease from h to 0.1h. Furthermore, h /h and TC approxi­
′
mately meet a negative index number power relation.
′ 0.804 ′
TC = 0.8836 × (h /h)− (h /h ∈ [0.1, 2]) (R2 = 0.9947)
The TC values of combined heating and pulsed operation are 4.85
min - 1 and 0.47min - 1 , respectively, whenh /h = 0.1. In other words,
′
the TC of combined heating is 11 times better than that of pulsed
operation. As the heat preservation grows better, the heat exchange
between the cooling plates and the environment will drop, and the heat
transferred from the cooling plates to the battery module will increase.
As a result, the temperature on the outside of the battery module will rise
faster, which makes the battery temperature difference smaller and the
heating rate higher. The effectiveness of combined heating for actual
applications is evident with excellent heat preservation.
The module SOC inconsistency is also studied through simulation.
The results suggest that the impact of cell SOC inconsistencies is negli
Y. Qin et al.
gible compared with the other factors. Fig. 7(c) shows the influence of
the three studied factors on TC under combined heating. The internal
resistance (R1 ), cell 1 SOC (SOC1 ), and heat transfer coefficients (h ) are
′
changed separately; that is, one value is changed while the two other
factors retain their standard values. The standard values include 20%
SOC (SOCOthers ), the heat transfer coefficients (h) mentioned in the
previous section, and the consistent internal resistance obtained from
the basic tests (ROthers ).R1 /ROthers ,SOC1 /SOCOthers , and h /h are changed
′
to 50%, 70%, 100%, 130%, 160%, 200%, 250%, and 300%. Notably, TC
is barely influenced by SOC inconsistency. TC only changes by 0.03
min - 1 when SOC1 increases from 20% to 60%. When R1 decreases from
the standard value to 50%ROthers , TC drops from 0.79 min - 1 to
0.62min - 1 . For the same change inh , TC increases to 1.52min - 1 . When
′
R1 or h is higher than the standard, TC declines, and the impact of
′
resistance is greater. WhenR1 /ROthers = h /h = 2, the TC values of the
′
two kinds of change are 0.51 min - 1
and 0.59min - 1 .
The maximum temperature differences under pulsed heating and
combined heating under various working conditions are depicted by the
radar chart in Fig. 7(d). The change in the cell No. 1 SOC has almost no
impact on both pulsed operation and combined heating. Nevertheless,
the variation of the heat transfer coefficients or cell No. 1 resistance has
a significant impact, and the internal resistance inconsistency exerts a
larger effect. Under 3C pulsed heating, the temperature difference rea­
ches 2.86 ◦ C, 5.94 ◦ C, and 0.29 ◦ C whenh /h,R1 /ROthers ,
′
andSOC1 /SOCOthers , respectively, increase from 100% to 250%. The re­
sults of 3C combined heating are similar; the corresponding increases
under the same conditions are 2.47 ◦ C, 5.72 ◦ C, and 0.1 ◦ C, respectively.
Nevertheless, the entire variation range of the combined method (set of
green lines) is almost enclosed in the triangle of the variation of pulsed
heating (set of blue lines), which visualizes the robustness of combined
heating.
The influence of different factors on the heating effects of the three
methods is summarized in Fig. 7(e). The evaluation index mainly con­
sists of the heating rate, temperature difference, and temperature con­
sistency. For external liquid circulation, a higher liquid temperature and
proper cooling plate layout enhance the heating rate and temperature
difference, but the coolant type and flow rate have little effect. The
heating rate can rise by 1.8 times in the three-side cooling plate layout
compared with that in the two-side layout. For bidirectional pulsed
heating, a large amplitude and low ambient temperature increase the
heating rate while enlarging the temperature difference. On the con­
trary, the heating effect of pulsed heating is insensitive to pulse period
and battery SOC. The maximum heating rate rises by 5.6 times from
0.66 ◦ C/min to 3.72 ◦ C/min as the pulse amplitude increases from 1C 4 s
to 3C 4 s. In external liquid circulation and pulsed operation, however,
the temperature difference rises rapidly as the heating rate increases,
thus affecting the TC. Integrating these two methods, the proposed
combined heating method demonstrates a significant improvement in
TC. The heating rate is promoted, and the temperature difference is
restricted.
The combined heating method offers high robustness for inconsistent
modules in practical applications, as shown in Fig. 7(e). Under the 3C
pulse current, the change in the temperature difference is controlled
within 1.8 ◦ C when the variation range of cell SOC or resistance is 50%;
meanwhile, the heating rate can exceed 5 ◦ C/min in the first 300 s. At
the pulse amplitude of 2C, the temperature difference can reduce to 2 ◦ C,
with a fluctuation of less than 1 ◦ C. Furthermore, the TC of the combined
method can be greatly improved using small heat transfer coefficients.
This indicates an advantage for engineering applications requiring good
heat preservation. The battery module is heated from − 20 ◦ C to 6 ◦ C in
300 s, and the temperature difference is kept within 1 ◦ C when the
transfer coefficients decrease by 90%. In addition, the TC of combined
heating is 11 times better than that of pulsed operation. Hence, the
proposed method is reliable for long-time applications, with excellent
inconsistency robustness and heating effects.
15
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
5. Conclusion
This study proposes a new LIB preheating method that integrates
pulsed heating and external liquid circulation. Pulse amplitude and
ambient temperature are crucial factors influencing pulsed heating ef­
fect. A larger amplitude or a colder environment contributes to a higher
heating rate but worse TC, as the battery periphery is inevitably cooler.
External liquid circulation with a three-side cooling plate layout shows
advantages over other arrangements for external thermal management.
Coolant type and flow rate exert little influence. Hence, the pulse pa­
rameters and cooling plate configuration are jointly optimized in this
study to achieve a rapid heating process and high TC simultaneously.
According to simulation results, the combination of a 3C pulse current
with 25 ◦ C 3 L/min water circulation can yield a heating rate of 10.3 ◦ C/
min in the first 600 s while the temperature difference is only 1.9 ◦ C at
an ambient temperature of − 20 ◦ C. Under an amplitude of 2C, the TC of
combined heating is 3.3 and 7.4 times better than those of pulsed
operation and external liquid circulation, respectively. The above­
mentioned results strongly suggest the advantages of the proposed
method in terms of heating rate and TC.
However, internal resistance inconsistency, especially that in pe­
ripheral battery cells, markedly affects heating uniformity while the
impact of cell SOC changes is neglectable, according to simulation re­
sults. Nonetheless, under the same inconsistent working conditions, the
TC of combined heating is 3 to 5 times better than that of pulsed heating.
The fluctuation of the temperature difference is limited within 2 ◦ C
when the inconsistent cell SOC or resistance varies by 50% under 3C
combined heating in 300 s. Therefore, the proposed combined method
demonstrates high robustness for inconsistent actual battery modules.
In addition, efficient heat preservation under practical conditions
benefits TC. For combined heating, the TC and heat transfer coefficients
have a negative exponential distribution. The battery module is heated
from − 20 ◦ C to 6 ◦ C in 300 s, and the temperature difference is merely
0.92 ◦ C as the heat preservation decreases by 90%. The TC of the pro­
posed method is 11 times better than that of pulsed operation. Thus, the
combined heating method can provide batteries with a rapid, consistent
preheating process. It offers tremendous application prospects in the
growing market of swapping stations, bidirectional chargers, and other
ESSs.
Future research should further improve the heating rate and TC with
lower energy consumption and less impact on battery life span. Optimal
control is also required to match pulsed current and external liquid
circulation parameters under various working conditions. For example,
the amplitude of the pulsed currents changes with the battery temper­
ature to ensure high heating rates and low battery degradation. The
temperature of the external liquid circulation is continuously adjusted to
keep the temperature uniformity. It is also necessary to optimize the
preheating method in combination with the charging process and
develop different BMS strategies for different scenarios. On the other
hand, the bidirectional converters that operates pulsed current can also
be used for bidirectional chargers for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications,
microgrids, energy storage stations and swapping stations. The battery
thermal management during the interaction between the battery and the
power system will also be studied in the future, and the combined
heating method is potential to enhance the utility of EVs or ESSs in the
low-temperature usage of future scenarios.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Yudi Qin: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing –
original draft, Writing – review & editing. Zhoucheng Xu: Software,
Writing – original draft. Shengran Xiao: Resources, Supervision, Vali­
dation. Ming Gao: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing. Jian
Bai: Software, Resources, Validation. Dorothea Liebig: Funding
acquisition, Resources, Supervision. Languang Lu: Formal analysis.
Xuebing Han: Formal analysis. Yalun Li: Formal analysis,
Y. Qin et al.
Methodology. Jiuyu Du: Resources, Project administration. Minggao
Ouyang: Project administration, Funding acquisition.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgment
This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Founda­
tion of China (51877057 and 51877121), Natural Science Foundation of
Beijing (3192016) and Shell company project. Shell company provided
not only experimental resources, but also guidance on setting up the
testing platform. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from
E-mobility Application Team at Shell.
References
[1] Williams JH, et al. The technology path to deep greenhouse gas emissions cuts by
2050: the pivotal role of electricity. Science 2012;335(6064):53–9.
[2] Pfeifer A, Prebeg P, Dui N. Challenges and opportunities of zero emission shipping
in smart islands: a study of zero emission ferry lines. Etransportation 2020:3.
[3] Pacala S, Socolow R. Stabilization wedges: solving the climate problem for the next
50 years with current technologies. Science 2004;305(5686):968–72.
[4] Wen JP, Zhao D, Zhang CW. An overview of electricity powered vehicles: lithium-
ion battery energy storage density and energy conversion efficiency. Renew Energy
2020;162:1629–48.
[5] Mallarapu A, et al. Modeling extreme deformations in lithium ion batteries.
Etransportation 2020:4.
[6] Ling ZY, et al. A hybrid thermal management system for lithium ion batteries
combining phase change materials with forced-air cooling. Appl Energy 2015;148:
403–9.
[7] Zhang SS, Xu K, Jow TR. Low temperature performance of graphite electrode in Li-
ion cells. Electrochim Acta 2002;48(3):241–6.
[8] Lu LG, et al. A review on the key issues for lithium-ion battery management in
electric vehicles. J Power Sources 2013;226:272–88.
[9] Hua X, et al. The prismatic surface cell cooling coefficient: a novel cell design
optimisation tool & thermal parameterization method for a 3D discretised electro-
thermal equivalent-circuit model. Etransportation 2021:7.
[10] Han XB, et al. A review on the key issues of the lithium ion battery degradation
among the whole life cycle. Etransportation 2019:1.
[11] Qin P, et al. Battery thermal management system based on the forced-air
convection: a review. Etransportation 2021:7.
[12] Zhang SS, Xu K, Jow TR. Electrochemical impedance study on the low temperature
of Li-ion batteries. Electrochim Acta 2004;49(7):1057–61.
[13] Zhang SS, Xu K, Jow TR. The low temperature performance of Li-ion batteries.
J Power Sources 2003;115(1):137–40.
[14] Waldmann T, Hogg BI, Wohlfahrt-Mehrens M. Li plating as unwanted side reaction
in commercial Li-ion cells - a review. J Power Sources 2018;384:107–24.
[15] Ren YY, et al. Direct observation of lithium dendrites inside garnet-type lithium-ion
solid electrolyte. Electrochem Commun 2015;57:27–30.
[16] Xiong R, Li LL, Tian JP. Towards a smarter battery management system: a critical
review on battery state of health monitoring methods. J Power Sources 2018;405:
18–29.
[17] Li Z, et al. A review of lithium deposition in lithium-ion and lithium metal
secondary batteries. J Power Sources 2014;254:168–82.
[18] Xiong R, et al. Online fault diagnosis of external short circuit for lithium-ion
battery pack. IEEE Trans Ind Electron 2020;67(2):1081–91.
[19] Hales A, et al. The Cell Cooling Coefficient as a design tool to optimise thermal
management of lithium-ion cells in battery packs. Etransportation 2020:6.
[20] Wu SJ, et al. The state of the art on preheating lithium-ion batteries in cold
weather. J Storage Mater 2020:27.
[21] Dondelewski O, et al. The role of cell geometry when selecting tab or surface
cooling to minimise cell degradation. Etransportation 2020:5.
[22] Teng H, et al. An analysis of a lithium-ion battery system with indirect air cooling
and warm-up. SAE Int J Passeng Cars – Mech Syst 2011;4(3):1343–57.
[23] Liu YZ, Zhang J. Design a J-type air-based battery thermal management system
through surrogate-based optimization. Appl Energy 2019;252.
16
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
[24] He FQ, et al. Experimental investigation of thermal management system for lithium
ion batteries module with coupling effect by heat sheets and phase change
materials. Int J Energy Res 2018;42(10):3279–88.
[25] Ling ZY, et al. Warming-up effects of phase change materials on lithium-ion
batteries operated at low temperatures. Energ Technol 2016;4(9):1071–6.
[26] Ianniciello L, Biwole PH, Achard P. Electric vehicles batteries thermal management
systems employing phase change materials. J Power Sources 2018;378:383–403.
[27] Rao ZH, Wang SF, Zhang YL. Thermal Management with Phase Change Material for
a Power Battery under Cold Temperatures. Energy Sources Part a-Recovery
Utilization Environ Effects 2014;36(20):2287–95.
[28] Ling ZY, et al. Computationally efficient thermal network model and its application
in optimization of battery thermal management system with phase change
materials and long-term performance assessment. Appl Energy 2020;259.
[29] Troxler Y, et al. The effect of thermal gradients on the performance of lithium-ion
batteries. J Power Sources 2014;247:1018–25.
[30] Dizaji HS, et al. A comprehensive exergy analysis of a prototype Peltier air-cooler;
experimental investigation. Renew Energy 2019;131:308–17.
[31] Jin X, et al. Researches on modeling and experiment of Li-ion battery PTC self-
heating in electric vehicles. In: Applied Energy Symposium and Summit - Low-
Carbon Cities and Urban Energy Systems (CUE). 2016. Jinan Assoc Sci & Technol,
Jinan, PEOPLES R CHINA.
[32] Zhang, J.N., F.C. Sun, and Z.P. Wang. Heating character of a LiMn2O4 battery pack
at low temperature based on PTC and metallic resistance material. in 8th
International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE). 2016. Beijing Inst Technol,
Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA.
[33] Zhang CN, Jin X, Li JQ. PTC self-heating experiments and thermal modeling of
lithium-ion battery pack in electric vehicles. Energies 2017;10(4).
[34] Ji Y, Wang CY. Heating strategies for Li-ion batteries operated from subzero
temperatures. Electrochim Acta 2013;107:664–74.
[35] Jarrett A, Kim IY. Design optimization of electric vehicle battery cooling plates for
thermal performance. J Power Sources 2011;196(23):10359–68.
[36] Wang Q, et al. A critical review of thermal management models and solutions of
lithium-ion batteries for the development of pure electric vehicles. Renew Sustain
Energy Rev 2016;64:106–28.
[37] Hu XS, et al. Battery warm-up methodologies at subzero temperatures for
automotive applications: recent advances and perspectives. Prog Energy Combust
Sci 2020;77.
[38] Pesaran A, Vlahinos A, Stuart T. Cooling and preheating of batteries in hybrid
electric vehicles. In: 6th ASME-JSME Thermal Engineering Joint Conference; 2003.
Citeseer.
[39] Vlahinos A, Pesaran AAJST. Energy efficient battery heating in cold climates. 2002:
p. 826–33.
[40] Wang CY, et al. Lithium-ion battery structure that self-heats at low temperatures.
Nature 2016;529(7587):p. 515-+.
[41] Qu ZG, Jiang ZY, Wang Q. Experimental study on pulse self-heating of lithium-ion
battery at low temperature. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2019;135:696–705.
[42] Guo SS, et al. A novel echelon internal heating strategy of cold batteries for all-
climate electric vehicles application. Appl Energy 2018;219:256–63.
[43] Li JQ, et al. Layered thermal model with sinusoidal alternate current for cylindrical
lithium-ion battery at low temperature. Energy 2018;148:247–57.
[44] Ruan HJ, et al. A rapid low-temperature internal heating strategy with optimal
frequency based on constant polarization voltage for lithium-ion batteries. Appl
Energy 2016;177:771–82.
[45] Ge H, et al. Temperature-adaptive alternating current preheating of lithium-ion
batteries with lithium deposition prevention. J Electrochem Soc 2016;163(2):
A290–9.
[46] Zhang JB, et al. Internal heating of lithium-ion batteries using alternating current
based on the heat generation model in frequency domain. J Power Sources 2015;
273:1030–7.
[47] Jiang JC, et al. A low-temperature internal heating strategy without lifetime
reduction for large-size automotive lithium-ion battery pack. Appl Energy 2018;
230:257–66.
[48] Zhu JG, et al. Experimental investigations of an AC pulse heating method for
vehicular high power lithium-ion batteries at subzero temperatures. J Power
Sources 2017;367:145–57.
[49] Zuniga M, et al., Heating lithium-ion batteries with bidirectional current pulses. In:
2015 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference (VPPC). Proceedings, 2015:
p. 6 pp.-6 pp.
[50] Jiang Y, et al. Recognition of battery aging variations for LiFePO4 batteries in 2nd
use applications combining incremental capacity analysis and statistical
approaches. J Power Sources 2017;360:180–8.
[51] Qin YD, et al. A rapid lithium-ion battery heating method based on bidirectional
pulsed current: Heating effect and impact on battery life. Appl Energy 2020;280.
[52] Qin Y, et al., Temperature distribution of lithium ion battery module with
inconsistent cells under pulsed heating method; 2022. p. 118529.
[53] Whitaker B, et al. A high-density, high-efficiency, isolated on-board vehicle battery
charger utilizing silicon carbide power devices. IEEE Trans Power Electron 2014;29
(5):2606–17.
[54] Shahul N, Shelly S. Bidirectional battery charger for electric vehicle. In:
Proceedings of International Conference on Sustainable Expert Systems. ICSES
2020. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems (LNNS 176); 2021. p. 185–98.
Y. Qin et al.
[55] Amanor-Boadu JM, Abouzied MA, Sanchez-Sinencio E. An efficient and fast li-ion
battery charging system using energy harvesting or conventional sources. IEEE
Trans Ind Electron 2018;65(9):7383–94.
[56] Zhang CJ, et al. Integrated half-bridge CLLC bidirectional converter for energy
storage systems. IEEE Trans Ind Electron 2018;65(5):3879–89.
[57] Qin YD, et al. Lithium-ion batteries under pulsed current operation to stabilize
future grids. Cell Reports Physical Science 2022;3(1).
17
Applied Energy 335 (2023) 120659
[58] Williamson SS, Rathore AK, Musavi F. Industrial electronics for electric
transportation: current state-of-the-art and future challenges. IEEE Trans Ind
Electron 2015;62(5):3021–32.
[59] Chen H, et al. A hybrid compensation scheme for the gate drive delay in CLLC
converters. Ieee J Emerg Selected Topics Power Electronics 2021;9(1):1119–32.
[60] Kalkan O, Celen A, Bakirci K. Experimental and numerical investigation of the
LiFePO4 battery cooling by natural convection. J Storage Mater 2021;40.