LAUSR

Abstract In order to enhance the thermal conductivity and secondary heat dissipation capability of the phase change material (PCM) in battery thermal management (BTM) applications, a new kind of composite PCM (CPCM) is successfully prepared by constructing a binary thermal conductive skeleton of expanded graphite (EG)/copper foam (CF). The EG with porous structure can adsorb the PCM of paraffin and act as a micro-thermal-conductive framework to transfer the heat to the adjacent CF skeleton. The CF acts as a macro-skeleton to transfer the heat throughout the CPCM plate and enhance the heat transfer coefficient of the interface between the CPCM plate and air. In consequence, the obtained CPCM-based battery pack with EG/CF (CPCM-EG/CF) delivers much better cooling and temperature-uniformed performances than those without EG/CF or CF, especially under a secondary heat dissipation system of forced air convection. For example, the CPCM-EG/CF pack shows stable and lowest maximum temperature and temperature difference of 48.0 and 3.9 °C during the cycling charge-discharge tests under forced air flow, respectively.