Application of Infrared Thermography in E-Bike Battery Pack Detail Analysis—Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze the applicability of infrared thermography in assessing the condition of an e-bike battery. The main challenge was to interpret the surface radiation detected by a thermal imaging camera. In addition to basic challenges of thermography, such as determining the emissivity, the angle of image acquisition, the problem of low resolution and thermal inertia, it was necessary to understand the physical behavior of the elements inside the battery and battery pack that respectively determine the dynamics and shape of the thermal pattern. E-bike batteries are mainly composed of 18650 format Li-ion cells, and the topology of the battery cell is related to the energy profile of the system. With the aim of establishing a link between the surface radiation patterns and the parameters of the individual 18650 cells that dictate the internal thermal behavior, a detailed analysis of the battery pack interior, upon its lifetime, was performed. Based on the results of the capacity analysis of the individual cells and determination of the exact position of the cells within the structure of the battery, a visualization and comparison with the thermographic records were performed to determine whether infrared thermography is able to diversify faulty cells. The conclusion of the study is that it is not possible to make a judgment about the thermal pattern expression or the pattern shape based on the estimated capacity values; however, based on the pattern, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the homogeneity of the capacity of the individual battery cells.

Battery Powered Grass Trimmer Life Cycle Assessment – Case Study

“…Li-Ion batteries have limited lifespan which does not necessarily depend on the declared number of charge and discharge cycles, [21]. Different configurations of battery packs are formed according to the required voltage for which the device is designed and the energy on which the autonomy of the device's operational state depends.…”

Evaluation of Preferences for a Thermal-Camera-Based Abnormal Situation Detection Service via the Integrated Fuzzy AHP/TOPSIS Model

“…For instance, road control studies use thermal cameras for various applications, including pedestrian detection on the road at night [19], object detection in under-exposed areas for autonomous driving [32], pothole detection on roads [33], and wildlife detection at night [34,35]. Transportation studies have explored the control of railway infrastructure elements such as train rails [36], while others have analyzed electric bicycle battery packs [37]. This indicates diverse thermography-based image analysis studies for preventing safety accidents in road and transportation.…”