Numerical simulation of Li-Ion battery thermal management system using heat-pipes

Numerical simulation of Li-Ion battery thermal management system using heat-pipes

Michael J. Rivera-Bonilla, Gerardo Carbajal, Luis Traverso, Jie Zhang, Luciano Castillo and Murat Tutkun

The purpose of the analysis is to develop a battery thermal management system (BTMS) by using heat pipes. These types of systems are commonly used in electric vehicles (EV), where the major concern of Li-Ion batteries is the gradual reduction of its performance mainly as a result of temperature rise. During the conversion from chemical to electrical energy some energy is lost in the form of heat.  The heat generation causes a temperature rise in the cell unit; therefore affecting directly the battery energy storage, efficiency and the life cycle. Different cooling process has been developed to address this problem.  A numerical simulation was performed to study the heat transfer process generated by the batteries to a series of flat heat pipe. Two key variables were studied: the air mass flow rate and the heat generation from a Li-Ion battery cell. The study includes three different models: Model-1 representing the cooling process by external forced convection on top of the configuration at an ambient temperature of 293. Model-2 proposes a cooling process by internal forced convection on top of the configuration, and Model-3 a hybrid cooing system that combines heat pipes with an air cooled BTMS. The numerical simulation results indicate a minimum temperature difference of 18 degree Celsius with Model-2 and 2 degrees Celsius with Model-3. Although both systems can performed adequately, the use of heat pipes can manage more efficiently the heat generated by the batteries than the BTMS model.