Hybrid Thermal Management Systems for Lithium-ion Battery-based Electric Vehicles: A Review

Abstract

The temperature of lithium-ion batteries has a significant impact on both their safety and performance. To achieve optimal performance and mitigate safety risks, these batteries must operate within a specific temperature range of 20°C to 40°C and temperature difference less than 5°C. Although manufacturers first used single thermal management systems, these systems are particularly suited for low-rate charge/discharge rates. However, today’s requirements aim to decrease the time of charge/discharge. In other terms, increase the rate of charge/discharge. This increases the rate of heat generation inside the battery. Therefore, it is crucial to develop more effective thermal management systems that can meet these requirements. A promising approach involves combining two or more single management systems into a hybrid system. The main purpose of this review is to hold a comparison between different hybrid thermal management systems based on the maximum temperature difference, maximum temperature, and feasibility of application of these systems in real life. After studying these systems, it was found that the hybrid system that combines heat pipes, composite silica gel plate (CSGP), and Liquid cooling showed high performance at a high discharge rate of 4-C. The system could keep the maximum temperatures below 43.5°C and maximum temperature differences below 3.5 °C, at water velocity of 0.2 m/sec. Furthermore, the system is not complex, which facilitate its implementation in electric vehicles.