Nowadays electric vehicle is replacing internal combustion engines in the transport sector. The growth of electric vehicles is increasing rapidly to reduce the impact of global warming and climate change. The battery limits the use of electric vehicles as an exact alternative to traditional IC engine vehicles. Specifically, the operating temperature, charge/discharge rates, and internal heat generation of the battery the performance of electric vehicles, like the driving range, charge storage capacity, the cycle life of the battery, and thermal runaway occurring at high temperatures. To overcome these problems, the battery thermal management system (BTMS) controls the temperature of the battery and maintains the optimal temperature to operate the battery efficiently and safely. In the heights of the above facts, the numerical analysis of 18650 Li-ion battery thermal management systems by passive cooling technology using Phase Change Material (PCM). The recent developments in battery thermal management systems, in particular, battery module analysis with and without PCM at different C rates, with and without fin are discussed at length.
Numerical Analysis using ANSYS FLUENT is carried out to determine the effect of the use of PCM on heat transfer in the battery module. Temperature distribution along the battery in the region of PCM with and without the use of fins of various geometries and their configuration are predicted. Among all the geometries studied, the use of “I” section fin had a profound beneficial effect on heat transfer leading to better performance of the battery.