Development of Composite Phase-change Material Based Thermal Management System for Battery of Electrical vehicles

Abstract

The goal of present study is to enhance the cycle life of the battery by developing a composite comprising of a phase change material (PCM), graphene, and surfactant based thermal management system for electric vehicle battery. Utilizing the PCM will improve thermal homogeneity, energy efficiency, and less intricacy across the battery. The composite PCM is used as a passive Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS), strengthening the universal system to improve near-autonomous performances. This study focuses on the preparation of Composite PCM, enhancement of thermal conductivity, thermal management schemes, and application of composite PCM. The Composite Phase-Change Material (CPCM) is formulated by combining phase-change material, surfactant, and graphene at varying mass proportions. Through experimentation, the most favourable mixture was identified, consisting of 97% PCM, 2% surfactant, and 1% graphene. Three batteries were fabricated for testing purposes. The first battery was a standard battery without any cooling mechanism. The second battery incorporated a phase change material (PCM) as the cooling medium and, the third battery utilized a composite phase change material (CPCM). During testing, the temperature rises in the standard battery reached up to 6°C. In comparison, the PCM and CPCM batteries showed temperature rises ranging from 2°C to 3°C. These results indicate that using a PCM-based cooling system is a better option to mitigate issues like thermal runaway and heat accumulation, ultimately enhancing the battery's lifespan. By implementing PCM-based cooling, the batteries experienced significantly lower temperature increases, highlighting the effectiveness of this approach in safeguarding the battery and prolonging its operational life. To gain a deeper understanding of the performance of the composite phase change material (CPCM) compared to a simple PCM-based battery, further experimentation is necessary. Keywords: Phase Change Material (PCM), Graphene, Surfactant, Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS), Composite Phase-Change Material (CPCM).