Hybrid cooling of cylindrical battery with liquid channels in phase change material

Summary In an electric vehicle, energy storage is in the form of electrochemical batteries, which are prone to thermal runaway and capacity fading if not maintained below safe temperature limits. An efficient battery cooling system is necessary for safer usage of electric cars during their life cycle. The current work presents a novel design that allows the coupling of liquid channels to a phase change material container in cylindrical batteries. The channeling approach allows heat dissipation from the phase change material container to both circulating media and convecting air. The design also helps to operate the cooling system without the circulation of liquid media in case of low ambient conditions. The comparison of the proposed system with a noncoupled liquid channel system is also presented to underline the merits of the system. The cooling media at a supply temperature of 30°C and the flow rate of 30 mL/min is adequate during the high ambient temperature of 40°C. The coupling of liquid channels to phase channel containers resulted in lowering the battery temperature well below 41.2°C even at an extremely high ambient temperature of 40°C. The current work presents a novel design that allows the coupling of liquid channels to a phase change material container in cylindrical batteries. The channeling approach allows heat dissipation from the phase change material container to both circulating media and convecting air. The design also helps to operate the cooling system without the circulation of liquid media in case of low ambient conditions