Experimental study on the thermal performance of lithium-ion battery cell using a heat pipe-assisted cooling system for electric vehicles

This study experimentally investigated the performance of an oscillating heat pipe as a heat exchanger in the thermal management system of the lithium-ion cell. Acetone, Deionized (DI) water, methanol and ethanol were used as a working fluid at various volumetric filling ratios of 30%, 50% and 70% for ambient temperatures of 25°C, 30°C and 35°C. Results have shown that the acetone-filled Heat Pipe outperformed the four working fluids used in oscillating heat pipe-based cell cooling. The maximum average cell temperature was reduced to 39.4°C from 47.5°C and the maximum temperature difference was reduced to 3.5°C from 10°C. The reduction was noted at about 17% and 65% for the maximum average cell temperature and temperature difference, respectively compared to the bare battery cell.