Thermal management of Li-ion battery by using active and passive cooling method

Abstract

To enhance the safety of Li-ion batteries, it is crucial to understand their behavior when exposed to high temperature. The structural arrangement and identical cell spacing are key aspects related to safety of Li-ion batteries. In this study a series of charge and discharge experiments on battery packs were carried out to evaluate the effects of thermal management on the performance of the battery pack. The temperature distribution among the cells was analyzed by varying surrounding conditions and using phase change material to improve thermal management. The general charging discharging patterns of cell shows the temperature difference as high as about 10 °C as compared with ambient temperature when no thermal management was employed, which ultimately reduce the cell performance with time on long term use. Active cooling (Air cooling) improves the thermal management inside the battery pack showing the temperature difference of about 6 °C as compared with ambient temperature. Whereas passive cooling significantly improves the thermal management inside the battery pack showing temperature difference of about 3.5 °C as compared to ambient temperature, which shows that the thermal management of battery pack using PCM can be a veritable method to enhance the battery pack life and safety.