A phase change/metal foam heatsink for thermal management of battery packs

Heat transfer and phase change flow inside a Li-ion battery enclosure filled with a copper metal foam embedded in paraffin wax phase change material (PCM) are studied numerically. For simplicity and due to the axisymmetric of the enclosure geometry, half of the battery cell is considered as the heat source on the right wall. The vertical walls are considered symmetric, while the bottom wall is insulated, and the top wall is subjected to the convective heat transfer. The governing equations of the flow and heat transfer are presented as partial differential equations and then transformed into non-dimensional forms and solved by employing the finite element method. The local thermal equilibrium model was used, which limits the model to metal foams with high pore densities. For validation, results are compared with some of the well-known studies in the literature. The isotherms and streamlines are presented for three levels of heat pulse intensity. Both melting and solidification occur as a result of the unsteady heat pulses induced by the thermal source. The vertical location of the battery inside the enclosure can affect the streamlines and isotherm contours. Results show that for higher heat pulse powers, the melt volume fraction (MVF) increases, and heatsink will have higher efficiency. For a comparatively strong heat pulse, the efficiency was increased about seven times.