Development and thermo-hydraulic evaluation of an SSPCM-liquid hybrid battery cooling system for lithium-ion battery modules

초록

Lithium-ion battery modules require effective thermal management to suppress temperature rise and maintain thermal uniformity under high discharge conditions. To address the limitations of conventional phase change materials (PCMs), including low thermal conductivity and thermal saturation, this study proposes an SSPCM–liquid hybrid battery thermal management system integrating shape-stabilized phase change material (SSPCM) with internal liquid cooling pipes for cylindrical lithium-ion battery modules. An expanded graphite/epoxy resin-based SSPCM was adopted as a thermally conductive and structurally stable matrix connecting the battery cells and cooling channels. The coupled thermal behavior of the proposed system was investigated using combined experimental and numerical approaches. Battery heat generation was predicted using the Newman–Tiedemann–Gu–Kim (NTGK) electrochemical–thermal model, while SSPCM phase change behavior was described using an enthalpy-based formulation. The numerical model was validated against experimental voltage and surface-temperature data under 1C-3C discharge conditions, with deviations within 5%. The results demonstrated that the proposed hybrid cooling system effectively suppressed battery temperature rise and excessive SSPCM melting under high discharge conditions. In the thermo-hydraulic evaluation, the 3 mm pipe exhibited the highest j/f of 50.48 × 10−3 under the 2C discharge condition at a coolant flow rate of 0.05 L/min, while the Case 3 curved-channel configuration achieved the highest PEC value of 3.637. These results indicate that the thermal performance of the proposed system is governed by the coupled effects of latent heat absorption, coolant-side heat removal, channel geometry, and hydraulic resistance. The present study provides practical thermo-hydraulic design guidelines for SSPCM-assisted hybrid battery cooling systems. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.

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