The IK4-IKERLAN researcher Nerea Nieto has recently defended her PhD thesis entitled 'A Model-Based Design of a Thermal Management System for a High Power Lithium-Ion Battery Pack' at Tecnun-Universidad de Navarra. It proposes an innovative thermal management system for lithium-ion batteries.
The thesis develops a new methodology to design the thermal management system. It enables the evacuation to take place of the heat generated in the high-powered battery for a traction application like a tram or train. Nieto has developed a mathematical model that allows the heat generated in the battery cells to be predicted and their thermal behaviour to be analysed thanks to a CFD numerical model. Using this methodology as the basis, it will be possible to adapt and optimise the design to the specifications of each storage system.
The work is part of the centre’s line of research into systems to generate and store electrical power. Nieto has received distinction cum laude for her work.