A numerical study of heat transfer in PCM composites for the integration of batteries and power electronics

The heterogeneous integration of lithium-ion batteries and power electronics in electric vehicles (EVs) application receives great attention due to its advantages of enhanced reliability, high flexibility and multifunctionality. However, the construction of the integration of batteries with power electronics presents a challenge in terms of the thermal management due to the temperature sensitivity of batteries. The heat generated by power electronics degrades the performance and life of batteries. This paper presents a numerical analysis of the heat transfer characteristics in phase change materials (PCM) composites within a system combining a battery cell with power electronics to investigate the effect of PCM composites on the heat transfer behaviour. The thermal analysis of PCM composites was conducted using a finite element model and compared with the results in literature. The findings indicate that PCM composites effectively delayed the temperature increase near the battery cell side and the power electronics side due to the large heat storage capacity of PCM. Moreover, the temperature increased more slowly when the porosity of PCM composites was higher. This study further demonstrates the effectiveness of PCM composites for thermal management applications of the integration of lithium-ion batteries and power electronics.