INVESTIGATIONS ON MELTING AND SOLIDIFICATION OF A BATTERY COOLING SYSTEM USING DIFFERENT PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS

The temperature of battery modules in electric vehicles must be controlled adequately to remain within a specified range for optimum performance. In this research work, thermal management of battery modules with PCM was investigated experimentally and computationally. The Li-Ion battery pack cooled with a PCM for removing heat generated during the battery charging and discharging cycles. Computations and experiments were carried out to estimate the heat transfer, solidification and melting characteristics of the PCM used in the thermal management of a Li-Ion cell module. Four PCM (GR44, RT50, OM35, and paraffin wax) with different melting temperature were used for the study. Battery operating temperature and melting point are the key parameters for selection of PCM. Experiments have been carried out only for OM35 and paraffin wax, because OM35 melting point is within the battery operating temperature and paraffin wax for considering harshest condition. The OM35 melting temperature range is below 35 degrees C which is accordance with a desire to keep battery temperature below that temperature. Based on experimental and simulation results, it was found that OM35 is keeping battery temperature range minimal, which was the ideal for Li-Ion battery thermal management.