Heat exchanger

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Chiller

A heat exchanger in which evaporating refrigerant from the air-conditioning circuit cools the battery coolant below ambient temperature. A radiator can only bring coolant close to outside air temperature; the chiller is what lets a pack fast-charge on a 35 °C day. Stationary storage containers use packaged chiller units for the same job.

Coolant

The liquid pumped through cooling plates and heat exchangers, usually a roughly 50:50 mix of water and ethylene glycol that stays liquid to about −35 °C. It carries heat better than air or dielectric oils, but it conducts electricity, so a leak inside a pack threatens insulation resistance and can short live parts.

Cooling plate

A flat aluminium channel assembly under or between the cells through which coolant, usually a water–glycol mix, is pumped. Heat crosses from cell to plate through a thermal interface material; the plate also sets the pack’s temperature uniformity.

Radiator

A finned coolant-to-air heat exchanger, usually behind the vehicle’s front grille, through which a fan draws air. It can only cool the coolant to a few degrees above the outside air, so it handles the battery in mild weather and the chiller takes over when it is hot or the charging load is high.

Refrigerant loop

A closed vapour-compression circuit: a compressor raises refrigerant pressure and temperature, a condenser rejects that heat to air, an expansion valve drops the pressure, and an evaporator absorbs heat as the refrigerant boils. Batteries draw on it through a chiller or through refrigerant plates that act as evaporators; R1234yf and CO₂ (R744) are the usual refrigerants.

References & further reading

Technical references

1. University Physics Volume 2, §1.6: Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

   OpenStax, Rice University

   Technical reference · Conduction, convection, radiation and thermal resistance.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

2. A General Energy Balance for Battery Systems

   Dawn Bernardi, Ellen Pawlikowski, John Newman · Journal of The Electrochemical Society · 1985

   Topic background · Battery energy balance and irreversible and reversible heat contributions. Reduced thermal models require explicit assumptions and current-sign conventions.