Thermal Simulation of Phase Change Material for Cooling of a Lithium-Ion Battery Pack

A new heat transfer enhancement approach was proposed for the cooling system of lithium-ion batteries. A three-dimensional numerical simulation of the passive thermal management system for a battery pack was accomplished by employing ANSYS Fluent (Canonsburg, PA, USA). Phase change material was used for the thermal management of lithium-ion battery modules and as the heat transmission source to decrease battery temperature in fast charging and discharge conditions. Constant current charge and discharge were applied to lithium-ion battery modules. In the experimental part of the research, an isothermal battery calorimeter was used to determine the heat dissipation of lithium-ion batteries. Thermal performance was simulated for the presence of phase change material composites. Simulation outcomes demonstrate that phase change material cooling considerably decreases the lithium-ion battery temperature increase during fast charging and discharging conditions use. The greatest temperature at the end of 9 C, 7 C, 5 C, and 3 C charges and discharges were approximately 49.7, 44.6, 38.4, and 33.1 °C, respectively, demonstrating satisfactory performance in lithium-ion battery thermal homogeneity of the passive thermal management system.