Content area
In phase change material-based battery thermal management systems (PCM-BTMS), heat buildup around the battery is more pronounced at high discharge rates due to the lower thermal conductivity of the PCM. To address this challenge, a transverse fin-casing composite structure (TFCCS) is added in PCM-BTMS, and its thermal performance is evaluated in comparison with BTMS without fins (PCM-BTMS) and BTMS with conventional transverse fins (TF-PCM-BTMS). Numerical simulations reveal that TFCCS enhances both longitudinal and transverse heat conduction by constructing a “T-shaped” heat conduction network, which makes the temperature distribution and PCM melting in the system more uniform. Compared with the PCM-BTMS and TF-PCM-BTMS, TFCCS-PCM-BTMS reduces the maximum battery temperature (Tmax) by 24.4% and 9.5%, and the battery temperature difference (ΔT) by 53.1% and 71.0%, respectively, at 5C discharge rate. The effect of the TFCCS structural parameters on the thermal performance of BTMS is further discussed. It is found that the thickness of TFCCS (transverse fin thickness δt and casing thickness δc) mainly affects ΔT, and increasing the number of transverse fins (N) does not always lead to better performance. Moreover, compared to conventional longitudinal fins, TFCCS enhances synergy and reduces entropy production.
Details
Heat transfer;
Discharge;
Thermal conductivity;
Cooling;
Air flow;
Conductive heat transfer;
Performance evaluation;
Temperature gradients;
Fins;
Temperature;
Electric vehicles;
Conduction heating;
Aluminum;
Phase change materials;
Composite structures;
Batteries;
Thermal management;
Heat conductivity;
Energy consumption;
Lithium;
Management systems;
Thickness
1 University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China (GRID:grid.267139.8) (ISNI:0000 0000 9188 055X)
2 Southeast University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China (GRID:grid.263826.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1761 0489)