Potential applications of phase change materials for batteries' thermal management systems in electric vehicles

In order to prolong the cycle life of the battery pack for electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, phase change materials (PCMs) are employed effectively for the battery thermal management (BTM) systems. Utilizing the cooling system based on PCMs for BTM can lead to the desired cooling effect yielding the most appropriate temperature distribution. The PCMs exhibit higher performance of thermal management and hence they can easily dissipate the battery heat generated and maintain the cell temperature below the safety level. This paper presents an overview of different types of PCMs. The advantages and disadvantages of different methods of thermal management systems (TMS) cooling for the BTMS are presented. Additionally, to avoid the low thermal conductivity of PCM and to reduce the maximum temperature hence increase the system lifetime; hybrid battery thermal management systems based-PCM integrated with air/liquid, heat pipes, fines, and nanoparticles are presented. The major results of the previous available studies are thoroughgoing discussed. The TMS for batteries in EVs/HEVs using hybrid cooling systems based on PCMs demonstrated encouraging results. Furthermore, limitations/challenges, recommendations, and future prospects of utilizing BTMS based-PCMs for EVs are introduced.