The importance of new energy battery thermal management
Thermal management, is a process in which batteries and other components use heating or cooling methods to regulate and control the temperature and temperature difference of the target object. The basic principles involved in thermal management include heat conduction, convective heat transfer, or thermal radiation, all of which involve temperature differences. Therefore, the process of thermal management requires energy consumption to create a temperature difference between the target object and the external environment.
Its application scenarios are very diverse, and it has been widely applied in industries such as industry, communication, consumer electronics, servers, energy storage, new energy vehicles, etc. It has a very positive effect on the normal and stable operation of related equipment or electronic components. With the rapid development of related industries, the thermal management industry will also be increasingly valued.
Thermal management can prevent overheating and system failures. With the rapid development of thermal management related application scenarios, the functions of related equipment increase, and the operation of components accumulates a large amount of heat. Excessive heat accumulation can lead to damage to electronic components, decreased equipment performance, and even the collapse of the entire system. By implementing reasonable thermal management measures, heat can be effectively dissipated, ensuring that the system operates within the appropriate temperature range and improving system reliability.
With thermal management, the performance and lifespan of equipment can be greatly enhanced. Taking the commonly used mobile phones as an example, due to the compact arrangement of the internal structure of the phones, there are hardly any gaps between various electronic components. If the heat from the battery and processor cannot be discharged in a timely manner, it will affect the various temperatures of other components, thereby disrupting the coordinated work of various hardware, not only affecting device performance but also affecting the lifespan of the phone.
Thermal management can improve energy utilization efficiency. In new energy vehicles, high or low working environments can affect battery performance, thereby affecting the range of new energy vehicles. Through reasonable and effective thermal management strategies, the working temperature can be maintained at a reasonable temperature, energy consumption can be reduced, and operating costs can be reduced.
The thermal management system can effectively control the working temperature through the BMS system, prevent accidents such as fires caused by thermal runaway, and ensure the safety of vehicles and passengers. Moreover, with the development of the new energy vehicle industry, relevant departments have increasingly high requirements for the safety performance and quality of the entire vehicle. Relevant laws and regulations also require car companies to have corresponding thermal management capabilities to ensure the safety and quality of the entire vehicle.
At present, thermal management solutions can be roughly divided into four types: air cooling, liquid cooling, direct cooling, and phase change materials. Air cooling is a common and simple way of heat dissipation, which uses natural airflow or fans to blow away the heat absorbed by the radiator. It has the advantages of low cost, simple installation, reliability and easy maintenance, but is greatly affected by the environment; Liquid cooling has the advantages of high heat transfer efficiency and uniform heat intensity, but the cost is relatively high. Direct refrigerant cooling is the use of refrigerant from the vehicle air conditioning system to directly flow the refrigerant into the evaporator inside the battery. The refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator and efficiently takes away the heat from the battery system. Variable materials can be divided into three types: inorganic phase change materials, organic phase change materials, and composite phase change materials. The process of absorbing and releasing heat, with a stable system temperature, can achieve an approximate constant temperature effect, and has been applied in many fields. It has simple structure, small mass, and huge latent heat characteristics, but high replacement cost and poor stability.
With the development of related industries, thermal management has been increasingly valued by manufacturers. Its characteristics of maintaining system stability, enhancing performance, enhancing security, and reducing costs are also favored by relevant industry professionals. Therefore, with the continuous development of related material technology, more and more solutions will be applied, and the application scenarios of thermal management will be further expanded.
