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Performance analysis and optimized design of hybrid battery thermal management system integrating leak-free PCM with liquid cooling under extreme temperature conditions

Author

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  • Fan, Yiwei
  • Wang, Zhaohui
  • Yang, Haonan
  • Yang, Wen
  • He, Ping
  • Zhang, Xiaofeng

Abstract

To improve the rapid cooling and insulation capabilities of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) under extreme temperature conditions, thereby reducing the risk of thermal runaway. This paper offers a unique hybrid battery thermal management system (BTMS) called MP-BTMS, which combines multi-stage Y-shaped fractal networks (MSYFN) liquid cooling with phase change material (PCM). In liquid cooling, the MSYFN cold plate structure is constructed using constructal theory. Meanwhile, the design sample points of the cold plate are obtained by a generalized full factorial design scheme. The radial basis function (RBF)-adaptive simulated annealing (ASA) optimization framework was used to determine the relationships between design variables (i.e., channel length ratio, channel width ratio, and channel bifurcation angle) and objective functions (i.e., flow pressure drop, standard deviation of battery surface temperature, and maximum battery pack temperature). Optimizing the Pareto front resulted in a 2.72 % decrease in maximum battery pack temperature, a 22.88 % reduction in surface temperature standard deviation, and a 95.61 % reduction in pressure drop over the cold plate. More importantly, the overall exergy destruction of the MP-BTMS decreased by 71.7 %. For the PCM component, microencapsulated phase change material/expanded graphite/high-density polyethylene (MPCM/EG/HDPE) composites were fabricated using spark plasma sintering (SPS). The resulting PCMs specimens showed excellent performance in terms of energy storage capacity, thermal conductivity and thermal stability. Notably, at a decomposition temperature of 866 K, the mass loss was maintained at approximately 31.8 %. In summary, MP-BTMS kept the battery module's maximum temperature between 298 K and 323 K even at ambient temperatures as high as 308 K. At low ambient temperatures (Tamb = 243 K), the improved MP-BTMS outperformed the standard liquid cooling system by 73.9 % in terms of thermal insulation. This work sheds fresh light on thermal management in harsh settings and opens the way for more effective battery cooling and insulating solutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fan, Yiwei & Wang, Zhaohui & Yang, Haonan & Yang, Wen & He, Ping & Zhang, Xiaofeng, 2025. "Performance analysis and optimized design of hybrid battery thermal management system integrating leak-free PCM with liquid cooling under extreme temperature conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:341:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225050467
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.139404
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    References listed on IDEAS

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