Cooling Enhancement of Li-Ion Battery With MXene-Based Phase Change Materials Using Battery Model: A Numerical Approach

Abstract

This numerical study investigates the enhancement of lithium-ion battery thermal management using MXene-based nano-enhanced phase change materials (PCMs), namely capric acid, n-octadecane, and RT-33. The thermal performance is evaluated over discharge rates of 1C–4C by analyzing cell temperature, PCM temperature, heat flux, voltage drop, discharge duration, and melting fraction distribution of both pure and MXene-enhanced PCMs. The results indicate that for MXene-enhanced n-octadecane, the temperature rise is limited to 1.7 K while the thermally safe operating duration decreases as the discharge rate increases from 1C to 4C. At 4C for 838 s, MXene-based n-octadecane exhibits the highest melting fraction (61.63%), followed by n-octadecane, MXene-based RT-33, RT-33, capric acid, and MXene-based capric acid. At the same C-rate, capric acid and MXene-enhanced capric acid show peak heat flux values of 12.04 and 16.69 W/m² at 250 and 450 s, respectively. Compared to MXene-based capric acid, MXene-based n-octadecane extends the thermally permissible operation by approximately 5 s at 4C, while the maximum cell temperature recorded is 310.52 K for MXene-based capric acid. Overall, among the studied materials, MXene-enhanced n-octadecane provides superior cooling performance, particularly at lower discharge rates, effectively maintaining lower cell temperatures and improved temperature uniformity, making it a promising candidate for enhanced battery thermal stability and safety.