Porous medium based cooling design for temperature homogeneity in lithium-ion battery pack
Rhik BANERJEE, Kottayat NIDHUL
Abstract. The thermal management of batteries plays a crucial role in the smooth operation of an electric vehicle. In this numerical study, the thermo-hydraulic performance of two cylindrical cell battery packs in a staggered configuration, one with porous media and one without porous media, are studied for various Reynolds numbers (Re). The feasibility of the porous medium in enhancing heat transfer rate was evaluated based on the constructal law rather than applying it to all the cells uniformly. It is observed that the battery pack with porous media has the lower maximum surface temperature (~ 316 K) for the range of Reynolds numbers studied. Further, the porous medium within the battery pack resulted in temperature uniformity and a higher heat transfer rate with minimal penalty in pressure drop.
Keywords
Li-Ion Battery, Porous Medium, CFD
Published online 3/1/2025, 8 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Rhik BANERJEE, Kottayat NIDHUL, Porous medium based cooling design for temperature homogeneity in lithium-ion battery pack, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 49, pp 330-337, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903438-33
The article was published as article 33 of the book Mechanical Engineering for Sustainable Development
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] bp energy economics, “bp Energy Outlook 2023,” 2023.
[2] J. Kim, J. Oh, and H. Lee, “Review on battery thermal management system for electric vehicles,” Feb. 25, 2019, Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.12.020
[3] M. Lowe and G. Gereffi, “Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles: the U.S. Value Chain,” 2010. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1421.0324
[4] H. Liu, Z. Wei, W. He, and J. Zhao, “Thermal issues about Li-ion batteries and recent progress in battery thermal management systems: A review,” 2017, Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/10.1016/j.enconman.2017.08.016
[5] H. Fayaz et al., “Optimization of Thermal and Structural Design in Lithium-Ion Batteries to Obtain Energy Efficient Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS): A Critical Review,” Jan. 01, 2022, Springer Science and Business Media B.V. https://doi.org/10.1016/10.1007/s11831-021-09571-0
[6] J. Sun et al., “Toxicity, a serious concern of thermal runaway from commercial Li-ion battery,” Nano Energy, vol. 27, pp. 313–319, Sep. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.06.031
[7] Y. Fan, Y. Bao, C. Ling, Y. Chu, X. Tan, and S. Yang, “Experimental study on the thermal management performance of air cooling for high energy density cylindrical lithium-ion batteries,” Appl Therm Eng, vol. 155, pp. 96–109, Jun. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.03.157
[8] L. Ramotar, “Second Law Analysis of a Liquid Cooled Battery Thermal Management System for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles,” 2010.
[9] “Frank” “Incropera” and “David” “DeWitt,” Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer.
[10] “ANSYS FLUENT 12.0 User’s Guide.”
[11] W. Q. Li, Z. G. Qu, Y. L. He, and Y. B. Tao, “Experimental study of a passive thermal management system for high-powered lithium ion batteries using porous metal foam saturated with phase change materials,” J Power Sources, vol. 255, pp. 9–15, Jun. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.01.006
[12] K. Nidhul, A. K. Yadav, S. Anish, and U. C. Arunachala, “Thermo-hydraulic and exergetic performance of a cost-effective solar air heater: CFD and experimental study,” Renew Energy, vol. 184, pp. 627–641, Jan. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.11.111
[13] N. F. Jouybari and T. S. Lundström, “Performance improvement of a solar air heater by covering the absorber plate with a thin porous material,” Energy, vol. 190, Jan. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116437
[14] Z. Wang, Z. Zhang, L. Jia, and L. Yang, “Paraffin and paraffin/aluminum foam composite phase change material heat storage experimental study based on thermal management of Li-ion battery,” Appl Therm Eng, vol. 78, pp. 428–436, Mar. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.01.009
[15] A. Hussain, C. Y. Tso, and C. Y. H. Chao, “Experimental investigation of a passive thermal management system for high-powered lithium ion batteries using nickel foam-paraffin composite,” Energy, vol. 115, pp. 209–218, Nov. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.09.008
[16] P. T. Garrity, J. Klausner, P. T. Garrity, J. F. Klausner, and R. Mei, “Performance of Aluminum and Carbon Foams for Air Side Heat Transfer Augmentation,” Article in Journal of Heat Transfer, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.40021722
[17] K. Rajarajeswari, P. Alok, and A. Sreekumar, “Simulation and experimental investigation of fluid flow in porous and non-porous solar air heaters,” Solar Energy, vol. 171, pp. 258–270, Sep. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.06.079
[18] S. K. Mohammadian, S. M. Rassoulinejad-Mousavi, and Y. Zhang, “Thermal management improvement of an air-cooled high-power lithium-ion battery by embedding metal foam,” J Power Sources, vol. 296, pp. 305–313, Aug. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.07.056
[19] M. Alipanah and X. Li, “Numerical studies of lithium-ion battery thermal management systems using phase change materials and metal foams,” Int J Heat Mass Transf, vol. 102, pp. 1159–1168, Nov. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2016.07.010
