CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0072501, filed on Jun. 15, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a battery cooling system for a vehicle and a method thereof. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a battery cooling system and a method that can prevent a battery from being degraded.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

An electric vehicle uses a battery-powered motor operating by electrical energy output by a battery. Since the electric vehicle mainly uses a battery formed of one battery pack including a plurality of rechargeable/dischargeable secondary cells, there are merits in that it has no emission gases and low noise.

A hybrid vehicle commonly refers to a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle that uses gasoline to power an internal-combustion engine and an electric battery to power an electric motor.

As such, since performance of an electric vehicle depends on performance of a battery, it needs a battery management system that can manage charge and discharge of each battery cell, and that can guarantee performance of the battery cell.

Particularly, the battery used for the electric vehicle is degraded essentially by continuous usage, and therefore performance of the battery is deteriorated. If the performance of the battery is deteriorated, travel distance is reduced and output of the vehicle during acceleration under same state of charge (SOC) is degraded.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a battery cooling system for an electric vehicle and a method thereof that can prevent degradation of a battery provided in an electric vehicle.

In an exemplary form of the present disclosure, a battery cooling system may include: a battery cooling apparatus configured to selectively connected to a cooling apparatus and cool a battery; the battery in which coolant flowing through the battery cooling apparatus is circulated therein; a battery management system configured to measure a temperature of the battery in a periodic time interval after a vehicle is turned off; and a controller configured to cool the battery through the battery cooling apparatus when the temperature of the batter is higher than a threshold temperature.

The battery cooling apparatus may include a battery cooling line in which coolant flows; a chiller provided on the battery cooling line, and adjusting a temperature of the coolant through heat-exchanging with the coolant selectively flowing therein; a first valve selectively connecting the cooling line of the cooling apparatus to the battery cooling line between the radiator and the battery; a branch line connecting the chiller and the battery through the first valve; and an electric water pump provided on the battery cooling line, and pumping the coolant flowing through the battery cooling line.

When the temperature of the battery is higher than the threshold temperature, the controller may operate the first valve to connect the battery connecting line and the branch line, close the cooling line and the battery connecting line, and operate the chiller and the electric water pump.

When the temperature of the battery is less than a predetermined temperature lower than the threshold temperature, the controller may stop an operation of the battery cooling apparatus, and the battery management system may measure the temperature of the battery in a periodic time interval.

In another exemplary form of the present disclosure, a cooling method for a vehicle may include: measuring, by a battery management system, a temperature of a battery in a periodic time interval; and cooling, by a controller, the battery through a battery cooling apparatus selectively connected to a cooling apparatus when the temperature of the battery measured by the battery management system is higher than a threshold temperature.

When the temperature of the battery is higher than the threshold temperature, a branch line connecting a chiller of the battery cooling apparatus chiller and a battery connecting line of the battery cooling apparatus may be connected by an operation of a valve controlled by the controller, and the battery cooling line of the battery cooling apparatus and a cooling line of the cooling apparatus may be closed by the controller, and the battery may be cooled by the chiller.

When temperature of the battery is less than a predetermined temperature lower than the threshold temperature, an operation of the battery cooling apparatus may be stopped by the controller, and the temperature of the battery may be measured in a periodic time interval by the battery management system.

According to an exemplary form of the present disclosure, when the vehicle is left for a long time in a hot weather and the temperature of the battery130is increased, the battery is cooled by an operation of the battery cooling apparatus and the air-conditioning system, and it is possible to prevent the battery from being degraded.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

