Heat transfer modelling of a supercapacitor stack

Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors, electrochemical capacitors or electrical double-layer capacitors (DEC), are novel energy storage devices which operate between capacitors and batteries with respect to power performance and energy storage. Supercapacitor stacks have a wide range of industrial applications., such as temporary power storage devices in electric vehicles or energy sources to reduce strains on batteries. Since a single supercapacitor cell can only produce a relatively low maximal operating voltage, it is common to connect a large number of individual supercapacitors in series to achieve the power requirement which has been called a supercapacitor stack. Since the supercapacitor stack may operate under critical condition in industrial and commercial environments, the cooling strategy and cell arrangement has a significant impact on the operation temperature of individual capacitors within the stack. THis thesis simulates the thermal model supercapacitor stacks with different air flow rates and cell arrangements by applying the lumped element model method. It is hoped this project will provide a better cell arrangement which has better cooling effects for the supercapacitor stack.