Numerical investigation on thermal management system for lithium ion battery using phase change material

Due to many inherent problems of lead acid batteries such as low life cycle, less storage capacity and memory effect, Lithium ion batteries were developed which overcame these difficulties. But when these batteries are subjected to higher discharge rates they exhibit a high rate of temperature increment which if crosses 50 degrees C changes the internal chemistry of the battery cell and that leads to degradation of battery capacity (measured in Ah) or even causes fire in certain conditions. So, in order to maintain the battery temperature, Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) was developed. Phase change cooling is a type of BTMS which utilizes Phase Change Material (PCM) in order to cool the battery cell by passive or hybrid cooling technique which not only sustains the battery temperature but also leads to prolong-ment of battery life and improvement in its performance. The current study numerically analyzed a pas-sive BTMS using RT-42 as PCM for thickness of 1 mm to 7 mm with an increment of 1 mm on an 18,650Li-Ion cell discharged at 3C discharge rate. The results conclude that a minimum of 4 mm thickness is nec-essary for effective temperature control of the battery cell. Also for 4 mm thickness of PCM it did not melt completely throughout the battery cell discharge cycle.Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of 2022 International Confer-ence on Recent Advances in Engineering Materials.

Automated summary

Lithium ion batteries were developed to overcome the inherent problems of lead acid batteries. However, these batteries exhibit a high rate of temperature increment under higher discharge rates, which can lead to degradation of battery capacity or even fire. Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS), particularly phase change cooling utilizing Phase Change Material (PCM), is used to maintain battery temperature and improve battery performance. The current study analyzed a passive BTMS using RT-42 as PCM and concluded that a minimum thickness of 4 mm is necessary for effective temperature control of the battery cell.