A Li-ion battery thermal management system combining a heat pipe and thermoelectric cooler

Abstract

The temperature of electric vehicle batteries needs to be controlled through a thermal management system to ensure working performance, service life, and safety. In this paper, TAFEL-LAE895 100Ah ternary Li-ion batteries were used, and discharging experiments at different rates were conducted to study the surface temperature increasing characteristics of the battery. To dissipate heat, heat pipes with high thermal conductivity were used to accelerate dissipating heat on the surface of the battery. We found that the heat pipe was sufficient to keep the battery temperature within the desired range with a midlevel discharge rate. For further improvement, an additional thermoelectric cooler was needed for a high discharge rate. Simulations were completed with a battery management system based on a heat pipe and with a combined heat pipe and thermoelectric cooler, and the results were in line with the experimental results. The findings show that the combined system can effectively reduce the surface temperature of a battery within the full range of discharge rates expected in the battery used.