Thermal management of Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles by nanofluid-filled loop heat pipes

Abstract

An analytical model is developed to determine the thermal performance of a Loop Heat Pipe filled (LHP) with copper oxide–water and alumina–water nanofluids for battery thermal management in electric vehicles. The thermal performances of the LHP are predicted for different heat loads and nanoparticle concentrations. It is demonstrated that for fast charging operation corresponding to a heat load of 150 W, the LHP ensures evaporator temperatures of less than 60 °C for a heat sink temperature of 40 °C. The heat transport capacity of the LHP is enhanced and the evaporator temperature is deceased by augmenting the nanoparticle concentration. The water–CuO nanofluid-filled LHP performs better than the water–Al2O3 nanofluid-filled one. The addition of the nanoparticles increases the LHP total pressure drop and the driving capillary pressure. The capillary limit of the water–CuO nanofluid-filled LHP is hardly affected by CuO nanoparticle concentration until 6% beyond which the capillary limit starts decreasing. For the water–Al2O3 nanofluid-filled LHP, the capillary limit decreases when Al2O3 nanoparticle concentration increases. Beyond 6% Al2O3 nanoparticle concentration, the capillary limit of the Al2O3-filled LHP becomes lower than the water-filled one.