Experimental and Numerical Investigations of a Thermal Management System Using Phase-Change Materials and Forced-Air Cooling for High-Power Li-Ion Battery Packs
Yulong Zhang,
Shupeng Zhao,
Tingbo Zhou,
Huizhi Wang,
Shen Li,
Yongwei Yuan,
Zhikai Ma,
Jiameng Wei,
Xu Zhao
Affiliations
Yulong Zhang
College of Mechatronical and Electrical Engineering, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Shupeng Zhao
College of Mechatronical and Electrical Engineering, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Tingbo Zhou
Automobile NCO School, Army Military Transportation University, Bengbu 233011, China
Huizhi Wang
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Shen Li
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Yongwei Yuan
College of Mechatronical and Electrical Engineering, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Zhikai Ma
College of Mechatronical and Electrical Engineering, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Jiameng Wei
College of Mechatronical and Electrical Engineering, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Xu Zhao
College of Mechatronical and Electrical Engineering, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
The thermal management system of a power battery is crucial to the safety of battery operation; however, for the phase-change material (PCM) thermal management system of a battery, the thermal cycling of phase-change material under large discharge rate conditions will lead to thermal conductivity degradation and thermal stress problems. A method of manufacturing PCM containers with metal fins to package pure phase-change material is put forward to solve the problem. The system temperature under different conditions is studied using numerical and experimental methods. A thermal resistance model is built to analyze the thermal transfer performance of PCM containers with fins. The results show that the PCM container structure can effectively control the battery temperature within the suitable temperature range under the low discharge rate, but the maximum temperature of the battery pack at the high discharge rate of 3 C will exceed the optimum operating temperature range. Adding fins can reduce the maximum temperature and improve the system temperature uniformity. By combining fins with forced-air cooling, the maximum temperature and maximum temperature difference of the battery pack at a high discharge rate can be effectively reduced.
