Experimental study on battery thermal management using low temperature solid-solid metal phase change material

Abstract

The low thermal conductivity and leakage of solid-liquid phase change materials limit their applications in battery thermal management. To address these challenges, a low temperature solid-solid metal phase change material (SS-MPCM) is used in this study. Battery module with three 32 Ah Lithium-ion batteries and SS-MPCM was established. The effects of SS-MPCM thickness, discharge rate and ambient temperature on the battery module volumetric energy density, maximum temperature and temperature uniform index were experimentally investigated. Results show that the SS-MPCM has a high thermal conductivity of 20.5 – 25.6 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹ and a latent heat of 154.3 J·cm⁻³ with the phase transition temperature range of 32.4 – 43.1 °C. The battery module with SS-MPCM has a lower maximum temperature and better temperature uniformity compared to the that with natural cooling, especially for thicker SS-MPCM, higher discharge rate and ambient temperature. The maximum temperature and average temperature uniform index of battery module with 4 mm thick SS-MPCM are decreased by 7.13°C and 18.99% respectively at 25 °C and 3 C conditions. In addition, the volumetric energy density of this battery module decreases by 14.75% compared to that without spacing.