Battery thermal management system using phase change materials and foam copper

An efficient thermal management system (TMS) can significantly improve the battery life and ensure the safe operation of the battery. In the paper, a passive thermal management system based on phase change material (PCM) was designed to solve the battery heat dissipation. The composite PCM using paraffin and foam copper was employed to improve the thermal conductivity of the PCM and the experimental research on the conductivity of the composite PCM. The performance of the TMS with the composite PCM was investigated by the change of the porosity, heating power and ambient temperature. The results showed that the thermal conductivities of the composite PCM with porosity of 96%, 95% and 93% were 14.2 times, 19.2 times and 25.4 times as much as that of the pure paraffin, respectively. The TMS with composite PCM significantly reduced the temperature of the heat source and its performance was superior to the natural convection cooling. Under the conditions of the fixed heating power and the ambient temperature, the maximum temperature of the heat source declined with the decrease of the porosity. In addition, the TMS of the composite PCM can significantly reduce the temperature fluctuation caused by the change of the heating power and the ambient temperature, and improve the temperature stability of the heat source.