Open Access

ARTICLE

Lithium-Ion Thermal Management Structure Based on Phase Change, Liquid and Heat Sink Cooling

Fei Wang¹, Jiaxin Liu^1,*, Jiang Liu¹, Yongkang Niu², Xilong Zhang¹
1 School of Intelligent Transportation and Vehicle, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao, China
2 Science and Technology Cooperation Division, High Technology Start Up Service Centre, Zichuan, Zibo, China
* Corresponding Author: Jiaxin Liu. Email: liujiaxin0828@163.com
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Multi-Scale Heat and Mass Transfer: From Intensification to System Integration)

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer https://doi.org/10.32604/fhmt.2026.083399

Received 04 April 2026; Accepted 08 June 2026; Published online 26 August 2026

Abstract

This paper focuses on the 21700 lithium-ion battery and addresses the heat dissipation requirements under a 3C high-rate discharge condition. Using numerical simulation methods, the thermal characteristics of the battery are systematically studied, and a multi-layer coupled thermal management system integrating honeycomb heat sink conduction, honeycomb channel liquid cooling, and phase change material (PCM) heat storage is designed and optimized. The research methodology adopts a stepwise multi-parameter optimization approach, progressing from a single cell to a complete system and from the inner layer to the outer layer. Based on the above experiments, the relevant thermophysical parameters of the test battery are obtained, and a high-precision thermal simulation model for a single cell is established. By comparing the simulated surface temperature rise of the battery under 1C–3C discharge with experimental data, it is found that the error between simulation and experiment is less than 4.55%, indicating that this simulation method is reliable and efficient. Subsequently, a battery–heat sink–channel–PCM multi-layer composite thermal management structure is proposed. Following a stepwise research approach from the inside out, the key parameters of the single-cell thermal management system are determined. The cooling effect is optimal when the honeycomb heat sink thickness is 2 mm, a counter-flow channel structure is adopted, and the channel inner diameter is 1.6 mm. The optimized composite system reduces the maximum battery temperature from 54.26°C to 39.85°C, and the temperature difference is reduced to 3.39°C.

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Keywords

21700 lithium-ion battery; battery thermal management; coupled thermal management system; phase change cooling

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