A numerical and statistical study to determine the effect of thermophysical properties of phase change material for lithium-ion battery thermal management

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries’ performance is quite sensitive to temperature, leading to capacity fade, acceleration of aging effect, and possible thermal runaway. The temperature of lithium-ion batteries increases under operating conditions of high discharge rates. The heat released by the battery can be effectively removed using phase change material (PCM). The thermophysical properties of the PCM affect the heat removal performance of the PCM. In this study, the effect of thermophysical parameters such as thermal conductivity, latent heat, specific heat, and density on maximum battery temperature and battery temperature uniformity was numerically investigated. The dominant factors for PCM to prevent temperature increase in a prismatic LiMn2O4 lithium-ion battery were identified by orthogonal design to improve the thermophysical properties of PCM. The thermophysical properties of PCM were changed by incorporating the expanded graphite. Based on what was observed in the current study, the influence of the thermal conductivity of PCM was higher than other thermophysical properties, while the influence of the latent heat on both maximum battery temperature and temperature uniformity was negligible. Density was the second crucial factor that could help reduce the maximum battery temperature and keep the temperature distribution uniform. The results obtained from this study can allow the design of effective battery thermal management systems by improving the thermophysical properties of the PCM.