Composite phase change materials with carbon foam and fibre combination for efficient battery thermal management: Dual modulation roles of interfacial heat transfer

An efficient battery thermal management system (BTMS) can undoubtedly improve the performance and lifetime of lithium-ion batteries. In this study, a novel battery thermal cooling module (BCM) consisting of composite phase change material (CPCM) with carbon foam skeleton support material and a carbon fiber thermally conductive gasket (CFT) are proposed. Experimental results show that the combination of CPCM loaded on carbon foam and CFT provides significant cooling and temperature balancing benefits to the battery components, with peak temperature reductions of 25.13% and 27.83% at 1.3C and 1.5C, and maximum temperature differences for 1.5C remaining within 2.7 °C. The high enthalpy of the CPCM is the key to battery cooling. The addition of CFT reduces the interfacial thermal resistance and enhances phonon heat transfer, effectively controlling the uniformity of the battery surface temperature. Therefore, this study shows that the combined BTMS with BCM and CFT has a good temperature response and cooling effect. The BTMS achieves the dual modulation of CPCM with high enthalpy and carbon material with enhanced heat transfer, enabling intelligent and long-term stable operation. This material combination is expected to have a wide range of applications in battery materials, energy storage and other fields.