Using Battery Designer
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Using the Battery Designer

This feature is not available with Granta EduPack 2021 R2 Introductory.
Background information and instructions for using the Synthesizer tool's Battery Designer, with links to more details about the underlying model.

  1. About the Battery Designer
  2. Using the Battery Designer
    1. Cell to Module models
    2. Module to Pack model
  3. Viewing synthesized records on a chart
  4. Example datasheet

For more detailed information about this model, see the Synthesizer Reference:  

About the Battery Designer

The Battery Designer is an early-stage battery pack design tool for initial comparisons across different module and pack configurations. It uses simplified models and selection data from commercially-available cell types to estimate key performance metrics, taking choice of cell, configuration, casing and insulation materials, and thermal management system into account.

The initial versions of Battery Designer and the Battery Cells datatable were developed as part of the MAT2BAT collaborative R&D project (Innovate UK, Faraday Challenge competition, Project no 133723), and subsequently further developed and integrated by Granta Design Limited, an ANSYS Inc. subsidiary.

Special thanks to Dr Billy Wu, Dr Samuel Cooper and Nathasha Gjerløv Fiig of Imperial College London for their contributions to the tool and data table schema.

Using the Battery Designer

Click on Synthesizer on the main toolbar and under Battery Designer, click on the required model type:

Cell to Module models

Specify your required module properties, then click Create to synthesize the Module record(s). The records will be added to the Battery Cells table under My Records > Synthesized > Modules.

Click Previous to to go back and choose a different model.

Module

Enter a Module name; this is used to name the synthesized records.Click Browse... to select a Battery cell from the Batteries datatable.

Performance

Cell to Module (by performance) only.

Enter the target Discharge time, Current and Voltage for the module. You can enter a single value or a range (e.g 12-20 V).

Modules must have integer numbers of cells. If the target ranges are too close together, some generated modules may have identical numbers of cells. If this is the case, only one record for each instance will be created.

Number of Cells

Cell to Module (by number of cells) only.

Enter the required Number of cells in parallel and Number of cells in series.

Discharge

Cell to Module (by number of cells) only.

Enter the target Discharge current for the module. You can enter a single value or a range (e.g. 0.1-0.2 A).

Configuration

Select the Pre-defined module checkbox to select one of the pre-defined configurations: Industrial, Automotive, or Shrink wrap.

Select the Custom configuration checkbox to specify module properties in the Packaging section.

If both checkboxes are selected, the Pre-defined configuration will be applied. If neither checkbox is selected, the Custom configuration will be applied.

Packaging

Click Browse... to select a Casing material and Insulation material, and enter the corresponding Wall thickness or Insulation thickness. Specify the Cell spacing within the module.

Thermal management system (TMS)

Select a cooling system from the list:

Module to Pack model

Specify your pack requirements, then click Create to synthesize Pack record(s). The records will be added to the Battery Cells table under My Records > Synthesized > Packs.

Click Previous to to go back and choose a different model.

Pack

Enter a Pack name (this will be used to name the synthesized records), and click Browse... to select a Module from the browse tree. You can use a cell record from the datatable, or your own synthesized Module record.

Number of Modules

To calculate number of modules from performance requirements:

  1. Select the Specify by performance checkbox.
  2. Edit the target Voltage window, Discharge time and Discharge current as a single value or a range (e.g. 3.3-3.7 V).

To calculate pack performance from number of modules:

  1. Select the Specify by number in series or parallel checkbox.
  2. Edit the Number of modules in series and Number of modules in parallel.
If both checkboxes are selected, the synthesized records will be specified by performance. If neither checkbox is selected, the synthesized records will be specified by the number of modules in series or parallel.

Packaging

Select the Custom configuration checkbox to specify packaging materials and geometry.

Click Browse... to select a Casing material and Insulation material, and enter the corresponding Wall thickness or Insulation thickness. Specify the Module spacing within the Pack.

Viewing synthesized records on a chart

The synthesized records created by the Battery Designer are appended to the MaterialUniverse Browse tree, under 'My records'.

These can be plotted on a Ragone chart for comparison. Add the synthesized records to a custom subset, then create a Chart plotting Specific energy against Specific power.

Example datasheet

The Notes field contains information about the model, cell, configuration and cooling system used. It also lists additional properties calculated by the model.