A good way of thinking about battery pack design is to look at components and functions. Even better if you have the luxury of having component owners and independent function owners.
I think in terms of the five function headings:
- Electrical
- Thermal
- Mechanical
- Control
- Safety
This post has been built based on the support and sponsorship from: Eatron Technologies, About:Energy, AVANT Future Mobility, Quarto Technical Services, TAE Power Solutions and The Limiting Factor.
If each of these have the responsibility of signing off that subject it means they look across the system as a whole and ensure that each component, sub-system and as a whole delivers the requirements.
You can also just use these as checks. Think of them as subject areas to focus a design review from chemistry to complete system. This approach will highlight issues and missed opportunities.
A good place to start is with requirements and a few checks to ensure that everyone is working to the same numbers and the same definitions.
Components
- Chemistry
- Cell
- BMS
- Module
- HV system
- Enclosure
Functions
- Electrical
- Thermal
- Mechanical
- Control
- Safety
Requirements
- Targets
- Legal requirements
- Engineering standards
- Design guides
- Corporate brand values
These five core functions can be used map the requirements onto the system and apply them to the components.
This approach is how the menu system on BatteryDesign.net is laid out.
The main menu has the components and the secondary right hand menu has the functions.
Battery Basics
A good place to start learning about batteries.
See also: Pack Design, Battery Pack Design: Architecture, Sizing, Enclosure & Testing