Experimental study and fabrication of a Li-ion battery thermal management system with polymeric heat pipes integrated with phase change material (PCM) for electric vehicle

近年来，人们对包括混合动力、插电式混合动力和纯电动汽车在内的电动汽车（ev）的兴趣有所增加，锂离子电池是这些汽车使用的主要电池类型。锂离子电池的热管理对电池的性能、寿命周期和安全性有着重要的影响。虽然车辆的全球运行温度通常为-45°C至55°C，但更有限的电池运行范围为20-40°C，这清楚地表明需要一个有效的电池热管理系统。在这个项目中，我们提出了聚合物热管与相变材料（PCM）的集成，作为一种有效的、低成本的、轻量化的电动汽车锂离子电池热管理系统。该项目的主要目标是制造和测试聚合物热管，并评估其在电池组实际操作条件下的性能。与目前用于电动汽车的金属液体热交换器相比，这项新技术的成本可能降低80%，重量可能减轻90%。希望这个项目的成果最终能转化为商业产品。

Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles has increased in recent years and Li-ion batteries are the main type of battery used in these vehicles. Thermal management of the Li-ion batteries has important impacts on their performance, life cycle and safety. While the global operation temperature of a vehicle is generally from -45 °C to 55 °C, the more limited battery operation range of 20-40 °C clearly demonstrates the need for an effective battery thermal management system. In this project, we propose integration of polymeric heat pipes with phase change material (PCM) as an effective, low cost and lightweight thermal management system for Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles. The main objective of this project is to fabricate and test a polymeric heat pipe and evaluate its performance under real operating conditions in a battery pack. This novel technology can be potentially 80% less costly and 90% lighter compared with current metallic liquid heat exchangers used in electric vehicles. It is hoped that the outcome of the project will eventually lead to commercial product.