Experimental Investigation of Hydrogel-Based Passive Cooling for Battery Thermal Management in EV Applications
Keywords:
Electric Vehicle, battery thermal management system, LiFePO4 battery, hydrogelAbstract
The growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has necessitated the efficient and energy-saving battery thermal management systems (BTMS) in the market. The operation of lithium-ion batteries creates a lot of heat, and prolonged exposure leads to performance degradation and raises a safety risk. Although active cooling techniques work, they take additional energy and decrease driving distance. This work investigates the performance of a passive cooling technique based on hydrogel layers for 12V prismatic LiFePO₄ batteries. A test rig was built to simulate and measure two scenarios: air-cooled and hydrogels to air-cooled. The hydrogel-based system was shown to bring down the maximum temperature of the battery to 30.0°C versus a temperature of 35.8°C observed in the absence of hydrogel, suggesting a better thermal regulation without any additional power consumption.
Downloads
References
T. S. International Labour Organization, Malaysia Green Technology and climate change corporation, “Powering the Future of Electric Mobility: Advancing Innovation through TVET Excellence - MIDA | Malaysian Investment Development Authority,” 2023. https://www.mida.gov.my/powering-the-future-of-electric-mobility-advancing-innovation-through-tvet-excellence/ (accessed Mar. 08, 2025).
S. Zhang, R. Zhao, J. Liu, and J. Gu, “Investigation on a hydrogel based passive thermal management system for lithium ion batteries,” Energy, vol. 68, pp. 854–861, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.012.
H. Jannesari, V. Khalafi, and S. A. M. Mehryan, “Experimental and numerical study of employing Potassium poly acrylate hydrogel for thermal management of 500 Wh cylindrical LiFePO4 battery pack,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 196, no. February, pp. 581–590, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2019.06.043.
L. J. Zheng and H. W. Kang, “A passive evaporative cooling heat sink method for enhancing low-grade waste heat recovery capacity of thermoelectric generators,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 251, 114931, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114931.
W. Watcharajinda, A. Asanakham, T. Deethayat, and T. Kiatsiriroat, “Performance study of open pond as heat sink of water-cooled air conditioner,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 25, no. April, p. 100988, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.100988.
C. U. Gonzalez-Valle, S. Samir, and B. Ramos-Alvarado, “Experimental investigation of the cooling performance of 3-D printed hybrid water-cooled heat sinks,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 168, no. October 2019, p. 114823, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114823.
D. Kong, R. Peng, P. Ping, J. Du, G. Chen, and J. X. Wen, “A novel battery thermal management system coupling with PCM and optimized controllable liquid cooling for different ambient temperatures,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 204, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.112280.
J. Lin, X. Liu, L. Shen, C. Zhang, and S. Yang, “A review on recent progress, challenges and perspective of battery thermal management system,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 167, p. 120834, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2020.120834.
F. Bai, M. Chen, W. Song, Z. Feng, Y. Li, and Y. Ding, “Thermal management performances of PCM/water cooling-plate using for lithium-ion battery module based on non-uniform internal heat source,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 126, 2017, pp. 17-27, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.07.141.
H. Choi, U. Han, and H. Lee, “Effects of diverging channel design cooling plate with oblique fins for battery thermal management,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 200, p. 123485, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2022.123485.
Z. Ling et al., “Review on thermal management systems using phase change materials for electronic components, Li-ion batteries and photovoltaic modules,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 31, pp. 427–438, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.017.
S. Zhang, R. Zhao, J. Liu, and J. Gu, “Investigation on a hydrogel based passive thermal management system for lithium ion batteries,” Energy, Vol. 68, pp. 854-861, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.012.
N. Wu, X. Ye, J. Li, B. Lin, X. Zhou, and B. Yu, “Passive thermal management systems employing hydrogel for the large-format lithium-ion cell: A systematic study,” Energy, Vol.231, p. 120946, 2021,doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.120946.
L. E. Helseth, “Humidity and heat transport during electrical heating of an ionic hydrogel,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 229, no. January, p. 125713, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.125713.
K. Unger, M. Anzengruber, and A. M. Coclite, “Measurements of Temperature and Humidity Responsive Swelling of Thin Hydrogel Films by Interferometry in an Environmental Chamber,” Polymers (Basel)., vol. 14, no. 19, 2022, doi: 10.3390/polym14193987
Z. Pan and L. Brassart, “Constitutive modelling of hydrolytic degradation in hydrogels,” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, vol. 167, no. May, p. 105016, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2022.105016.
S. A. M. Mehryan and H. Jannesari, “Improving Li-ion battery thermal management via hydrogel evaporative cooling,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 248, no. PA, p. 123173, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123173
P. Yang, C. Feng, Y. Liu, T. Cheng, X. Yang H. Liu and H. J. Fan, “Thermal Self‐Protection of Zinc‐Ion Batteries Enabled by Smart Hygroscopic Hydrogel Electrolytes,” Adv. Energy Mater, 2020, doi: 10.1002/aenm.202002898.
S. W. Churchill and H. H. S. Chu, "Correlating equations for laminar and turbulent free convection from a vertical plate," Int. J. Heat and Mass Transf., vol. 18, pp. 1323–1329, 1975, https://doi.org/10.1016/0017-9310(75)90243-4.
N. Wu, X. Ye, J. Li, B. Lin, X. Zhou, and B. Yu, “Passive thermal management systems employing hydrogel for the large-format lithium-ion cell : A systematic study,” Energy, vol. 231, p. 120946, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.120946.
T. Sun et al., “Thermal Runaway Characteristics and Modeling of LiFePO 4 Power Battery for Electric Vehicles,” Automot. Innov., 2023, doi: 10.1007/s42154-023-00226-3.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nor Afifah Yahaya, Muhammad Aiman Shafiq Abdul Rahman, Hariz Saufi Mohd Sumari, Amalina Amir, Fauziah Jerai @ Junaidi, Amir Radzi Ab. Ghani

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.