ISSN 3121-8733
Abstract
Effective thermal management is critical for the safety, durability, and performance of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles (EVs), particularly under high C-rate operation and fast-charging conditions. This study investigates an energy-efficient hybrid battery thermal management system (BTMS) that integrates phase change materials (PCMs) with heat pipes and fin structures to mitigate temperature rise and enhance thermal uniformity at the module scale. A transient numerical thermal model is developed to simulate realistic charge–discharge profiles, incorporating battery heat generation, latent heat absorption by PCM, conductive heat transport via heat pipes and fins, and convective heat dissipation to the ambient. Key performance metrics, including maximum cell temperature, temperature non-uniformity, PCM melt fraction, and cooling energy demand, are evaluated and compared against baseline and PCM-only configurations. Results demonstrate that the hybrid PCM–heat-pipe–fin architecture significantly reduces peak temperature and spatial temperature gradients while smoothing transient thermal fluctuations during high-power cycling. Furthermore, the hybrid system lowers the required convective heat-transfer coefficient, indicating a substantial reduction in active cooling demand and associated energy consumption. A parametric sensitivity analysis reveals optimal ranges for PCM thickness, fin spacing, and heat-pipe density, highlighting diminishing thermal returns beyond critical design thresholds and enabling balanced trade-offs between thermal performance, mass, and system complexity. The findings confirm that hybrid passive thermal management can achieve near-equivalent thermal control to active liquid-cooling systems with lower energy use and improved reliability, offering a promising pathway for scalable, energy-efficient EV battery thermal management under realistic operating conditions.
Keywords: Energy-Efficient, Thermal Management, Electric Vehicle Batteries, Phase Change Materials