A Comprehensive Approach for the Clustering of Similar-Performance Cells for the Design of a Lithium-Ion Battery Module for Electric Vehicles

An energy-storage system comprised of lithium-ion battery modules is considered to be a core component of new energy vehicles, as it provides the main power source for the transmission system. However, manufacturing defects in battery modules lead to variations in performance among the cells used in series or parallel configuration. This variation results in incomplete charge and discharge of batteries and non-uniform temperature distribution, which further lead to reduction of cycle life and battery capacity over time. To solve this problem, this work uses experimental and numerical methods to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the clustering of battery cells with similar performance in order to produce a battery module with improved electrochemical performance. Experiments were first performed by dismantling battery modules for the measurement of performance parameters. The k-means clustering and support vector clustering (SVC) algorithms were then employed to produce battery modules composed of 12 cells each. Experimental verification of the results obtained from the clustering analysis was performed by measuring the temperature rise in the cells over a certain period, while air cooling was provided. It was found that the SVC-clustered battery module in Category 3 exhibited the best performance, with a maximum observed temperature of 32 °C. By contrast, the maximum observed temperatures of the other battery modules were higher, at 40 °C for Category 1 (manufacturer), 36 °C for Category 2 (manufacturer), and 35 °C for Category 4 (k-means-clustered battery module).