Thermal Behavior Simulation of Lithium Iron Phosphate Energy Storage Battery

Abstract

The heat dissipation of a 100 Ah lithium iron phosphate energy storage battery (LFP) was studied using Fluent software to model transient heat transfer. The cooling methods considered for the LFP include pure air and air coupled with phase change material (PCM). We obtained the heat generation rate of the LFP as a function of discharge time by fitting experimental data. Numerical simulation results indicated that air cooling is only appropriate for the battery with discharge rates of 2C or less. Air cooling is not suitable for the battery with discharge rates greater than 2C due to security requirements. Cooling with air coupled with PCM demonstrated that a PCM thickness of 8cm achieved the highest cooling efficiency. The use of air coupled with PCM for heat dissipation reduced the peak temperature of the LFP, at a discharge rate of 5C, by 18.55oC.