Liquid Cooling for Li-Ion Battery

The Hyster-Yale group needs a custom cooling solution for a diesel to electric forklift conversion. The company is using a battery pack consisting of seven lithium ion batteries and that produce more heat than the forklift can remove by itself. The goal is to solve this problem by using a two fluid refrigeration system that fits between the batteries. Our solution will cool the batteries to a stable temperature autonomously and will cycle on and off as needed to reduce the energy usage of the system.

=Problem Definition= The capstone team must find a liquid cooling method to run in between the batteries and keep them under a specific temperature at all times, even when charging.

Background
In an attempt to help reduce carbon emissions, the Hyster-Yale Group is converting the above internal combustion 9-ton forklift into an electric one. The battery pack they use, however, requires additional cooling to operate in hot environments.

After the work of last year's capstone team to attempt to cool these lithium ion batteries using air, Hyster Yale Group decided in order to get the cooling capacity they need, a liquid cooling method will be required.

Deliverables

 * Proof of Concept Prototype
 * Prototype to cost less than $750 per unit to produce.
 * CAD Models & Drawings
 * The prototype model is to be modeled in SolidWorks.

Functional
The system must:
 * Remove 180W of heat from each battery
 * Cool batteries below 45 °C in 45 °C ambient environments
 * Begin and end operation after batteries pass an internal temperature of no more than 40°C
 * Minimize temperature gradient across the battery system

Spatial
The cooling system needs to fit within the space defined above In addition, it must have these dimensions:
 * Height < 502mm
 * Width < 652mm
 * Depth < 272mm

The interface between batteries must be no more than a total of 10mm wide

=Project Learning= Since it summarizes the project learning for the semester, please see the Fall Design Review Presentation

=Concept Design= The most recent concept as of Fall 2019 semester, most of the refrigeration-cycle components are salvage from last year's project. Although the hoses positioning of everything still need to be finalized, this image shows the progress made so far.

=Team Members=

=Additional Documentation=

Project Schedule



Meeting Minutes Meeting Minutes can be found in the following Google Drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TMc5gTbkPgc9gg0pdgvmfdxRUFSOhyuR?usp=sharing

Presentations Meeting Presentations can be found in the following Google Drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IkLC-wqh1iwEJ0_oOxvOf9qMeCUjyuIV?usp=sharing