Experimental assessment of hybrid battery temperature regulation strategy via integration of binary nano-enhanced phase change material composite with helical fluid flow skeletons

The continuously escalating global demand for lithium-ion battery-based electric vehicles has stimulated the scientific efforts to ensure their efficient and extended operational performances alongside limiting several practical safety concerns. The hybrid temperature control strategies integrating nano-enhanced phase change materials with liquid flow channels have been emerged as well-researched and extensively adopted method synergizing the advantages of both strategies along with overcoming their individual limitations. In this work, an innovative nano-enhanced phase change materials-embedded helical fluid flow skeleton-assisted battery temperature control system was analyzed experimentally to examine the effects of variations in discharge rate and heat transfer fluid inflow temperature as performance parameters during operations at different ambient temperature conditions. The binary mixture of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoparticles (in 3:7 mass ratio) was used to improve thermal characteristics of base phase change material. The analysis outcomes confirmed the superior thermal performance of phase change material-integrated hybrid structure exhibiting the synergistic thermal enhancement effects with maximum average temperature drops of 52.43 % and 50.76 % relative to bare test configurations for 22 °C and 34 °C ambient conditions, respectively; along with maximum thermal difference of 3.92 °C across the module. Additionally, two empirical correlations predicting system performance were proposed and validated with corresponding experimental outcomes.