Numerical Simulation of a Thermal Management System Using Composite Flame-Retardant Resin and Its Effect on Battery Life Span

Abstract

One of the obstacles to the adoption of electric vehicles as a future pollution-free transport solution is that the energy sources (batteries) have not yet become sustainable through a long-life span under the specific operating conditions. The problem that arises is that high temperatures inside the batteries represent a safety risk and have negative effects on the battery life span, which imposes the use of thermal management systems. The present article aims to analyze, by numerical methods, the effect of the use of a fireproof composite resin on the efficiency of the thermal management system, specifically on the degree of battery sustainability (measured by the effect on the life span). Five constructive variants are proposed and thermally analyzed. Based on the measured temperatures, the intensity of the chemical reactions that occur in a 18650-type Li-ion cell was calculated, and conclusions related to the impact on the life span were drawn. It has been found that the use of a fireproof composite resin leads to an increased heat transmission towards the outer environment and an increase in the life span by 22.2% compared to that noted for conventional air cooling. The results also recommend the use of heat exchangers associated with flame retardant resins, which leads to a 20.6% improvement in the heat transfer capacity of the battery’s thermal management system. When comparing the solutions in which the flame-retardant resin is used, the results show that adding 3 wt.% of nanomaterial leads to a significant life span increase of 11.7% when compared to the results for the resin-only case.