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Title: Bench Testing Results for the Electrical PCM-Assisted Thermal Heating System (ePATHS)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1260087· OSTI ID:1260087
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Bench testing of the Electrical PCM-Assisted Thermal Heating System (ePATHS) was completed at the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The ePATHS is a thermal energy storage device designed to reduce the energy required from the battery for cabin heating of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). ORNL s testing of the ePATHS assessed three main aspects of operation of the device: 1.ePATHS charging evaluation: measure the time to charge and the energy input needed to fully charge the PCM for a range of different ambient conditions. 2.ePATHS Discharge Evaluations: measure the energy provided by the PCM HX, both during mode 1 and mode 2 operation, and confirm the cabin heating duration that can be provided by the ePATHS. This is the primary evaluation to validate the system performance, and an array of multiple ambient conditions and operating scenarios were tested. 3.Evaluation of Thermal Losses from the ePATHS during Cold Soak: this test will evaluate the performance of the insulation system for the ePATHS. The charged ePATHS undergoes a long-term soak in cold ambient temperature conditions, and the heat losses will be evaluated to validate that the performance meets the maximum energy loss requirement.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1260087
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-2016/175
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English