Thermal management improvement of an air-cooled high-power lithium-ion battery by embedding metal foam

• Published in: Journal of power sources 2015-11, Vol.296, p.305-313
• Main Authors: Mohammadian, Shahabeddin K., Rassoulinejad-Mousavi, Seyed Moein, Zhang, Yuwen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air-cooling; Hybrid electric vehicles; Lithium-ion battery pack; Pin fin heat sink; Porous metal foam; Thermal management
• ISSN: 0378-7753; 1873-2755
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.07.056

Effect of embedding aluminum porous metal foam inside the flow channels of an air-cooled Li-ion battery module was studied to improve its thermal management. Four different cases of metal foam insert were examined using three-dimensional transient numerical simulations. The effects of permeability and porosity of the porous medium as well as state of charge were investigated on the standard deviation of the temperature field and maximum temperature inside the battery in all four cases. Compared to the case of no porous insert, embedding aluminum metal foam in the air flow channel significantly improved the thermal management of Li-ion battery cell. The results also indicated that, decreasing the porosity of the porous structure decreases both standard deviation of the temperature field and maximum temperature inside the battery. Moreover, increasing the permeability of the metal foam drops the maximum temperature inside the battery while decreasing this property leads to improving the temperature uniformity. Our results suggested that, among the all studied cases, desirable temperature uniformity and maximum temperature were achieved when two-third and the entire air flow channel is filled with aluminum metal foam, respectively. •Metal foam was embedded in an air-cooled Li-ion battery for a more efficient design.•The placement of metal foam inside the channel improved temperature uniformity.•Porous insert length for both maximum temperature and uniformity was considered.•Suitable permeability and porosity were identified for optimum thermal behavior.•Proposed designs, significantly enhanced thermal management of the battery.