Thermal performance analysis of compact-type simulative battery module with paraffin as phase-change material and flat plate heat pipe

• Published in: International journal of heat and mass transfer Vol. 173; p. 121269
• Main Authors: Abbas, Saleem, Ramadan, Zaher, Park, Chan Woo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Battery thermal management system; Computational fluid dynamics; Electric vehicles; Flat plates; Heat; Heat generation; Heat pipe; Heat pipes; Inlet temperature; Liquid cooling; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Lithium-ion battery; Management systems; Modules; Operating temperature; Paraffins; Phase change materials; Phase-change material; Product safety; Rechargeable batteries; Temperature gradients; Thermal management; Thermal stability; Water; Lithium-ion battery; Phase-change material; Heat pipe; Battery thermal management system
• ISSN: 0017-9310; 1879-2189
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2021.121269

•Compact type battery thermal management system has been developed using phase change material and flat plate heat pipes with water cooling.•Maximum temperature and uniformity has been maintained for continuous operation for attached heat pipe (AHP) configuration.•Higher inlet water temperature has improved the temperature uniformity within module.•Numerical modeling of the proposed system has been performed for experimental validation. The thermal management of lithium-ion batteries is crucial for electric vehicles because of the optimum operating temperature and safety issues. Herein, we propose two types of compact battery thermal management systems (BTMS), which utilize a phase-change material (PCM), i.e., paraffin and flat plate heat pipes with liquid water cooling. The configurations are classified using the heat pipe installation method as the detached heat pipe (DHP) mode and attached heat pipe (AHP) mode. The thermal performance of the proposed BTMSs is characterized experimentally, and it is verified that the proposed AHP installation mode successfully managed the thermally stable operating conditions of the BTMSs. PCM melting is predicted using computational fluid dynamics and verified via experimental visualization. At a low heat generation rate of 2 W (544.39 W/m2), the PCM remained in the solid state. Melting occurred at higher heat generation rates of 4 and 6 W (1088.79 and 1633.18 W/m2, respectively). At the coolant inlet temperature, the module's maximum temperature decreased significantly; however, the temperature difference within the module increased, which can cause thermal imbalance in the battery module.