Thermal Performance Analysis of Copper Foam Enhanced Beeswax Composite with varying Porosity as Phase Change Material for Thermal Management of Li-Ion Battery

Phase change materials (PCMs) have garnered increasing interest for thermal energy storage and temperature regulation, particularly in applications such as lithium-ion battery thermal management. Beeswax (BW), a bio-based, sustainable phase change material, offers high latent heat capacity but suffers from low thermal conductivity. This limits its use in high-heat applications like lithium-ion battery thermal management. This study explores enhancing BW performance by incorporating copper foam with varying porosities (90%, 85%, 80%) using a two-temperature equilibrium model. Results show that decreasing porosity significantly boosts thermal conductivity—up to 77.24 W/m·K at 80% porosity, a 257-fold increase over pure BW. While this reduces latent heat capacity by 20% due to less BW volume, total energy storage improves by 17% (2,518 J). Latent heat utilization also rises to 72% at 80% porosity, compared to 65% for pure BW. The composite delays melting initiation by 1,250 s, offering extended sensible cooling during thermal spikes. All porosity levels reduced system temperature by ~52.85 K versus non-PCM cases, with minor variation among configurations. The 80–85% porosity range offers an optimal balance of conductivity, energy absorption, and melting behavior, making copper foam–BW composites a strong candidate for advanced battery thermal regulation.