Improvement of the thermal management of lithium-ion battery with helical tube liquid cooling and phase change material integration

Abstract

This study investigates innovative thermal management strategies for lithium-ion batteries, including uncooled batteries, batteries cooled by phase change material (PCM) only, batteries cooled by flow through a helical tube only, and batteries cooled by a combination of liquid cooling through a helical tube and PCM in direct contact with the battery surface. Transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is utilized to analyze the effectiveness of these cooling methods. The liquid cooling is directed through a helical tube wrapped around the battery, facilitating efficient temperature regulation. Additionally, PCM is incorporated to surround both the battery and the helical tube, thereby enhancing the heat dissipation capabilities. The performance of the combined cooling system is assessed under various conditions, including the individual contributions of liquid cooling and PCM cooling, as well as their combined effects. The findings show that the proposed approach performs better than individual cooling methods and it effectively lowers the battery's maximum temperature. Besides, as the pitch of the helical tube decreases, there is a significant decrease in the surface temperature of the battery. This decrease in temperature enhances the efficiency of liquid cooling, allowing for more effective heat dissipation from the battery surface. It is also found that increasing the flow velocity inside the helical tube leads to improved convective heat transfer. Overall, the combined cooling approach described here shows great promise as an effective solution for thermal management of lithium-ion batteries.