Battery Pack Mass Properties

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embers

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May 23, 2013
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Greetings. I am an engineer working on a new type of battery. I am collecting data on battery pack mass properties to do a comparison between the new battery and existing Li-Ion batteries. I would like to use the Nissan Leaf as a baseline. I understand the weight of the total pack is 300 kg. But I am looking at the weight of the whole system and the weight of each component.

The information I would like is the weight of the modules (there are 48 consisting of 4 cells), the weight of each of the different systems (battery management systems, thermal management or environmental control systems) connectors, harnesses, frame/case, etc. In other words (for the engineers in the forum) a battery pack bill of materials (BOM) and the associated weights.

Thanks very much,
 
There was also a change from the 11/12MY to the 13MY. The way each module is packaged was slightly changed and I believe the pack weight was reduced slightly.
 
The only thing that I could find was an old thread talking about one cell specifications.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3498" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Thanks all. I know what a Quixotic task this is but I am hoping there is someone who is more of a zealot than me that has this kind of info.
I'll let you all know what I discover.
 
Embers, please try the this link. Module weight was 8.3 lbs and cell weight was 1.8 lbs in 2011, but some of this information could be outdated by now, much like kovalb said upthread. the big unknown is the weight of the steel battery container. Since we know its dimensions, assuming certain thickness of the material, the weight of the battery pack case could be estimated.
batteryproblemmnl
 
CrainAdam said:
Did the changes in it make any difference in the battery ?

Besides putting vents in the modules, they tweaked the chemistry. It's too early to tell yet. I had a meter for my 2011 so I can compare the two.
 
LEAFfan said:
Besides putting vents in the modules,...
Those aren't vents. There is no airflow in the battery pack. Internal cooling is all through conduction to the bottom plate. The changes are simply weight reduction.
surfingslovak said:
^^^ Once again, do we have any confirmation that this is in fact the case?
Yes.
 
surfingslovak said:
Would you care to elaborate?
Sure. Here is what I wrote in January about the 2013 battery changes:
RegGuheert said:
Some notes on the 2013 battery:

- The module case was modifiied to reduce weight and materials used. They claimed a 30 kg weight reduction for the LEAF battery just from that change.
- The changes to the 2013 battery module chemistry were mainly intended to reduce cost. (There has been some mention of improvements in thermal capabilities, but the battery experts did not confirm that. They indicated there may be small changes in battery characteristics, but weight and cost were the two major changes.)
- The 2013 battery modules are compatible with the 2011/2012 LEAFs.
 
RegGuheert said:
surfingslovak said:
Would you care to elaborate?
Sure. Here is what I wrote in January about the 2013 battery changes:
RegGuheert said:
Some notes on the 2013 battery:

- The module case was modifiied to reduce weight and materials used. They claimed a 30 kg weight reduction for the LEAF battery just from that change.
- The changes to the 2013 battery module chemistry were mainly intended to reduce cost. (There has been some mention of improvements in thermal capabilities, but the battery experts did not confirm that. They indicated there may be small changes in battery characteristics, but weight and cost were the two major changes.)
- The 2013 battery modules are compatible with the 2011/2012 LEAFs.
This is great, thanks! Certainly better than the opaque references quoted in the press. It's good to hear that they would tweak the chemistry if it's deemed necessary. LG Chem and GM appear to be a bit more aggressive on that front, there was even a rumor of another slight capacity increase for the 2014 MY, but it turned out to be unsubstantiated. Still good to hear, I suggest that your post was quoted when the question about battery changes comes up again.
 
surfingslovak said:
It's good to hear that they would tweak the chemistry if it's deemed necessary. LG Chem and GM appear to be a bit more aggressive on that front, there was even a rumor of another slight capacity increase for the 2014 MY, but it turned out to be unsubstantiated.
I agree that LG Chem and GM have been a bit more aggressive on this front. My (pure) speculation is that my last bullet is a key reason why Nissan would not substantially change the chemistry for 2013: Perhaps they want to have local supply for modules coming from the US and Europe that they could use for repairs of the 2011/2012 LEAFs. Of course it needs to be physically compatible, but they likely don't want the chemistry to be too different, either, otherwise it may not play well with the heuristics in the BMS. Again, that is just a guess.
 
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