Experimental investigation on thermal management system of composite phase change material coupled with serpentine tubes for battery module

Abstract

• Paraffin/carbon nanotube/boron nitride/silicone gel (PCBS) composite has designed. • PCBS exhibits anti-leakage, reignite resistance and prominent waterproof property. • Batteries with PCBS can decrease interface heat resistance by pouring technology. • Composite material coupled with serpentine tubes is designed for battery module. • The battery module with PCBS can exhibits excellent thermal management effect. As an advanced thermal management method for battery modules, phase change material with many advantages have attracted much attention; however, many significant challenges still exist. In this study, a novel paraffin/carbon nanotube/boron nitride/silicone gel composite material was designed and fabricated. Owing to the combination of phase change material with the large latent heat and silicone gel as a thermal interface material, the paraffin/carbon nanotube/boron nitride/silicone gel exhibits outstanding properties such as anti-leakage, mechanical flexibility, re-ignition resistance, and outstanding waterproofing ability. Compared with the pre-solidification process, the results reveal that the battery with composite material can obtain a low-interface thermal resistance between the composite materials and batteries through an in-situ pouring technology, which exhibits a faster thermal response than that without PCBS. In addition, the paraffin/carbon nanotube/boron nitride/silicone gel coupled with serpentine liquid-cooling tubes have been utilized in the battery module, which can control the maximum temperature below 55 °C at 1 C discharge rate, it is obviously lower than that without composite material. This research is expected to provide insights into the design and optimization of thermal management systems in various energy storage fields.