Effect of Phase Change Materials on Lithium-Ion Plate Batteries

Abstract

This paper presents the simulations of the cooling system of a battery pack (BTPC) consisting of lithium-ion (LIN) plate batteries. The BTPC includes six battery cells (BTCL) in two rows with three BTCLs, which are placed in a channel with one inlet and two outlets. The laminar and steady airflow flows in the channel. Phase-change material (PCM)-filled rectangular cubic enclosures enclose every BTCL. Transiently adjusting the cavity aspect ratio (AR) every 6000 s is how this investigation is conducted. For four values of AR, the values of the PCM volume percentage surrounding each BTCL in the BTPC, and the temperature of each BTCL are calculated. The simulations are performed using the FEM and COMSOL software. The results demonstrate that the maximum changes in temperature of the battery (TOB) pack by changing the AR occur when the TOB pack is reduced. The maximum temperature reduction at this time is 1.88 °C which occurs between AR2 and AR4 at 720 s. The maximum temperature corresponds to AR3 and AR4 and the minimum one is related to AR1 and AR2. From 1260 to 3500 s, the effect of AR on PCM volume fraction is maximal. The value of solid PCM for AR1 and AR2 is higher than that for AR3 and AR4 at different times. Additionally, an increment in the value of the AR enhances the amount of channel pressure drop by 14%.

Keywords

• lithium-ion battery
• forced airflow
• PCM
• aspect ratio
• cooling