Thermo-mechanical behaviors of the expanded graphite-phase change material matrix used for thermal management of Li-ion battery packs

In this paper, blocks for the thermal management of Li-ion battery are prepared. The blocks are made of paraffin wax, which is used as a phase change material (PCM), and graphite flakes. The process starts by compacting expanded graphite into the desired modular shapes and then impregnating it into molten paraffin wax. The modular pieces were assembled together, followed by finishing operations to achieve a desired packaging geometry. Thermo-mechanical properties of the produced phase change material–expanded graphite (PCM/EG) composites have been studied. The tests include thermal conductivity, tensile compression and bursting test. The results showed that as mass fraction of paraffin wax increases in the composite material, the thermal conductivity, tensile strength, compression strength, and burst strength were improved while tested at low operating temperatures. In contrast, the results showed reverse behaviors when tested at relatively high operating temperature.