Enhancement of heat transfer efficiency in Li-ion battery packs through response surface optimization of heat pipes

Abstract

Battery thermal management system (BTMS) ensure optimal performance and safety of Electric vehicle (EV) battery packs. Conventional cooling strategies using heat pipes with air and liquid cooling face challenges in effectively dissipating heat, leading to thermal management issues. This study addresses these limitations by proposing an optimized heat pipe design (helical configured) for enhanced thermal management efficiency. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations evaluate the proposed design for its heat transfer characteristics. The results demonstrated that Air-based cooling systems without heat pipes, in both parallel and staggered arrangements, showed temperature ranges of 30.64∘C to 42.66∘C and 31.14∘C to 41.76∘C, respectively and Liquid cooling systems using water-glycol fluid demonstrated temperature ranges of 30.33∘C to 35.96∘C within the battery pack. This is because the helical configuration provides a larger surface area for heat transfer, allowing for improved heat dissipation. Furthermore, Weight optimization techniques are employed to reduce the overall weight of the battery pack while maintaining structural integrity. The proposed design and optimization strategies contribute to advancing BTMS technology, enhancing battery performance, extending battery life, and ensuring safety. Future research directions include scalability studies for larger battery packs and evaluating the optimized design under various operating conditions. Exploring advanced materials and fabrication techniques can enhance heat transfer capabilities and system efficiency.

Keywords

• Battery pack modelling
• Battery thermal management system
• Lumped heat generation model
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Heat pipe
• Heat sinks