Assessment of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in battery systems for heavy-duty vehicle applications

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A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

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en

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14

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Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 349

Abstract

Thermal management plays a crucial role in ensuring performance, safety, and durability in heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), particularly under demanding operating conditions. This study investigates the use of phase change materials (PCMs) for passive thermal control, focusing on the thermal characterization and performance evaluation of commercial PCMs for battery thermal management systems (BTMS). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) identified n-octadecane as the most promising candidate, with a melting range of 25–32 °C, a latent heat of fusion of 222.2 J g−1, and good thermal stability. Experimental tests in a dedicated thermal energy storage (TES) system examined the charging and discharging behaviour of n-octadecane under varying heat transfer fluid (HTF) flow rates. The heat transfer was conduction-dominated in the solid state and convection-enhanced in the liquid state. Increasing the heat transfer fluid (HTF) flow rate had limited influence on charging/discharging time but improved thermal power ratio of the TES to 56 at 3 L min−1, representing a 3.5-fold improvement over the baseline configuration without PCM. Experimental results highlighted that incorporating PCM into the TES system increased the gravimetric specific power to 0.056 kW kg−1 – 3.5 times higher than the baseline configuration without PCM (0.016 kW kg−1). Additionally, the volumetric specific power reached approximately 68 kW m−3, a sixfold enhancement compared to the baseline. These findings support the design of modular PCM-integrated TES systems as scalable solutions for HDV battery pack cooling or cabin thermal management.

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Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors.

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Revello, E, Dixit, P, Turunen, K, Santasalo-Aarnio, A & Monteverde, A H A 2026, 'Assessment of phase change materials for thermal energy storage in battery systems for heavy-duty vehicle applications', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 349, 120816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2025.120816