Effective thermal management of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries using tab-cooling method involving highly conductive ceramics

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the thermal management performance of a tab-cooling method for pouch-type lithium-ion batteries under various operating conditions. The thermal performance of tab-cooling and fin-thickness methods are evaluated using a battery simulator. The tab-cooling method demonstrates better thermal performance for battery cooling than the fin-thickness method owing to its effective cooling performance. In particular, the performance of the tab-cooling method improved as the discharge rate increased owing to the effective dissipation of heat in the tab area. Furthermore, the tab-cooling method shows a higher cooling performance-to-weight ratio than the fin-thickness method owing to the higher thermal conductivity and lightness of ceramics. In addition, the tab-cooling method shows excellent lifespan improvement at higher discharge rates. The equivalent full cycle (EFC) of the tab-cooling method is 8–13 % higher than that of the no-tab (NT) cooling condition at a discharge rate of 5C. The EFC-to-weight ratio of the AlN tab-cooling method is 4–6 % higher than that of the NT cooling condition at a specified fin thickness.