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Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 4751 – 4756

The 8th International Conference on Applied Energy – ICAE2016

Numerical analyses on aluminum foams cooling plate for

lithium-ion batteries
Lip Huat Sawa,*, Ming Chian Yewa, Ming Kun Yewa, Wen Tong Chongb
a
Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR, Kajang, 43000, Malaysia.
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Malaysia.

Abstract

Successful implementation of electric vehicle relies strongly on its energy storage systems. Li-ion battery is the best
candidate for the energy storage systems due to its energy density, power density and low maintenance. Temperature
will affect the power availability, driveability and cycle life of the battery. Hence, effective thermal management
system is needed to prolong cycle life and ensure balance charging/discharging among the cell in the battery pack. In
this study, a battery module comprised three pieces of Li-ion pouch cell is arranged side by side and attached to
aluminum foam heat sink to extract heat generated. The performance of two different type of pores density aluminum
foams with different porosity were investigated numerically. Experimental correlation of Nusselt Number,
permeability and resistance loss coefficient from the literature was extracted and used in the steady state CFD
simulation. Among the metal foams, 10 PPI aluminum foam with 0.918 porosity offered the highest thermal
performance and lowest flow resistance. Hence, it was shown that aluminum foam can be used to replace heat sink in
the battery pack.

©©2017
2016 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by Elsevier
by Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ICAE
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 8th International Conference on Applied Energy.

Keywords: battery temperature; CFD analysis; porous media; aluminum foam; heat generation

1. Introduction

Various types of thermal management system have been used in the electric vehicle’s battery pack
such as air cooling, liquid cooling and phase change material to keep the temperature within optimum
range 25 oC - 40 oC [1-4]. Each type of cooling technology has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Although air cooling offers the cheapest solution for the battery pack cooling, cooling performance is low

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +603-9086 0288; fax: +603-9019 3886.

E-mail address: bernardsaw81@yahoo.com.

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 8th International Conference on Applied Energy.
doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1034
4752 Lip Huat Saw et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 4751 – 4756

and inhomogeneous temperature distribution of cells in the battery pack is always found. Conversely,
liquid cooling offer higher cooling capacity but it is more expensive and coolant leakage is always a
concern. Moreover, high surface flatness of cooling jacket and battery surface is needed to reduce thermal
resistance and localize hot spot.
Metal foam is a substance that contains pores or defined spaces in the solid metal which liquid or gas
can pass through. There are two types of cell geometry associated with metal foam which is known as
open cell and close cell [5]. Open cell metal foam is a new class of material with excellent mechanical,
electrical, thermal and acoustical properties. Open cell metal foam is proven to be very promising in fluid
flow and thermal application. However, the application of open cell metal foam in the thermal
management system of Li-ion battery pack is relatively new compared to air and liquid cooling.
Mohammadian et al. investigated the effect of embedded aluminium foam inside a pin fin heat sink for an
air-cooled Li-ion battery module through numerical simulations [6]. The study is only focus on single
cooling channel and does not represent overall view of the battery module. Besides, the design is complex
and expensive to be fabricated and installed. Hence, an extensive effort is needed to investigate the
application of the open cell metal foam in the Li-ion battery pack cooling.
In this study, Li-ion battery pack thermal management system using open cell aluminum foam was
investigated. Aluminum foam is sandwiched between two heat spreaders to extract heat generated from
the batteries. Two different pores density of open cell aluminium foam -10 and 20 PPI with various
porosity were modelled to investigate the performance numerically. Experimental correlations were
extracted from literature and applied in the steady state CFD simulation to determine the best combination
of pores density and porosities of aluminum foam for the Li-ion battery pack cooling solution.

2. Design and analysis of the battery pack

2.1. Battery module design

A battery module comprised three pieces of 20 Ah Lithium-ion pouch cells AMP20m1HD-A (A123
systems, Inc) arranged side by side and sandwiched between two aluminum foam heat sinks as shown in
Fig. 1(a). The heat sink is made of open cell aluminum foam and two heat spreaders. The measurement of
battery, heat spreader and aluminum foam are tabulated in Table 1. A constant flow rate of the cooling air
was supplied to the heat sink to dissipate heat generated from batteries. Since there are repeated array of
battery module in the battery pack, only a single battery module with a single heat sink is modelled.

2.2. Numerical simulation

ANSYS-CFX was used to investigate the performance of the aluminum foam heat sink that is difficult
to observe in the experimental study. Steady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with
constant properties was used to model the flow in the heat sink. The pouch cells were modelled with a
uniform volumetric heat source and anisotropic thermal conductivity [8]. Uniform heat generation of 30
W per cell (corresponding to the maximum heat generation of 3C rate of discharge) was assigned to the
battery [9]. Heat generated due to contact resistance at terminals is small and neglected in this study. The
battery module domain was discretized with hybrid meshing into 3784762 elements. The cooling fluid is
air and was assumed to be an ideal gas. Mass flow rate boundary condition was assigned to the inlet while
pressure boundary condition was assigned to the outlet. Inlet air temperature is assumed to be 30 oC to
simulate Malaysia weather condition. Outer surface of the battery module is assumed to be no slip and
adiabatic wall conditions. The computational domain was initialized with ambient conditions at 1
atmospheric pressure. All simulations were executed with a high resolution scheme to achieve an accurate
 Lip Huat Saw et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 4751 – 4756 4753

solution. A tight convergence criterion with RMS of 1.0 x 10 -6 was applied to continuity, momentum and
energy equations. Grid independent test was conducted to refine the grid size until the relative error of the
simulation results (cell temperature and pressure drop) is less than 5%.

Table 1. Dimension of the battery module.

Component Dimension Material
Battery 160 mm (L) x 227 mm (H) x 8 mm (T) Graphite/LiFePO4
Heat spreader 462 mm (L) x 227 mm (H) x 2 mm (T) Aluminum
Aluminum foam 462 mm (L) x 227 mm (H) x 6.25 mm (T) Aluminum

Fig. 1. (a). CAD model of battery module. (b). Open cell Aluminum foam [7].

2.3. Parameter extraction

Commercial Duocel 6101-T6 Aluminum alloy open cell foams (ERG aerospace Corp) with various
Pores Per Inch (PPI) and porosities were used in this study (Fig. 1(b) [7]). Physical and thermal properties
of aluminum foam are extracted from Hernandez study and used in the numerical modeling to investigate
the performance of aluminum foam heat sink in cooling the Li-ion battery module [5]. Then, the best
candidate is selected from numerical modeling results. Physical parameters of the aluminum foams are
tabulated in Table 2.

Table 2. Physical properties of Aluminum alloy open cell foam [5].

Sample PPI Ligament Pore Porosity, Surface area per unit Permeability, Resistance Loss
diameter, diameter, % volume of foam, x 10-8 K, m2 coefficient, cF (10-1)
mm mm (m2/m3)
A 10 0.406 5.08 0.918 809.1 10.08 0.70
B 10 0.406 1.93 0.794 2053.1 2.20 1.28
C 10 0.406 1.24 0.682 3169.3 1.04 1.78
D 20 0.203 2.90 0.924 1240.2 6.07 0.72
E 20 0.203 0.89 0.774 3593.7 1.04 1.20
F 20 0.203 0.63 0.679 5104.3 0.68 2.55

Correlation of Nusselt number with permeability based Reynolds number derived from experimental
measurement is described in Eq. 2 [5].

Nu = C Rekr (2)

Reynolds number based of permeability can be calculated using Eq. 3.

Rek = (UvK0.5)/ μ (3)

U is the density of air, v is the inlet velocity, K is the permeability and μ is the viscosity of air.

Friction factors of the aluminum foam were calculated using Fanning friction factor as in Eq. 4.
4754 Lip Huat Saw et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 4751 – 4756

f = ('P) / [4(L/Dh) (Uv2/2)] (4)

3. Results and discussion

Forced convection through metal foam has been proven to improve the heat dissipation rate. Metal
foam provides extended heat transfer surface area up to 10 times compared to traditional heat sink.
Enhancement of heat transfer is due to local thermal dispersion caused by turbulent flow of cooling air
past through the medium fibres. Thermal boundary layer is frequently re-initialised and mixing of coolant
is occurred. This action is important to ensure the boundary of cooling air flow is in a constant state of
development and the cooling performance is sustainable throughout the heat sink. The advantages of
metal foam are low cost, machinability, lightweight and customizable porosity. Fluid flow in the porous
media is complex and flow separation may occur around the fibres when the flow velocity reached the
limit of Stokes flow [10]. This process will enhance the mixing process and lead to heat transfer
enhancement. Metal foam with saturated cooling fluid has a higher thermal performance when compared
to cooling fluid alone and this keeps the surface temperature at desired limits.

3.1. Average temperature

Evolution of the average surface temperature of batteries cooled by 10 and 20 PPI aluminum foam
with various porosities and mass flow rate of cooling air is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, respectively. It is
showed that for a given mass flow rate of cooling air, average surface temperature of the battery module
using 10 and 20 PPI of aluminum foam is positively correlated with porosity. Denser aluminum foam will
have more filament material per unit volume and effective surface area is also increased. Therefore,
turbulent flow is promoted and enhanced convection effect throughout the aluminum foam and lower the
average surface temperature of the battery module. However, there is no significant difference on the
thermal performance of 10 PPI aluminum foam with 0.794 and 0.682 porosity and 20 PPI aluminum foam
with 0.774 and 0.679 of porosity. When the porosity is reduced, permeability of fluid in the aluminum
foam is also reduced and less cooling air penetrated through it to dissipate the heat generated from the
batteries. For all cases, 10 gs-1 of cooling air is sufficient to maintain the battery surface temperature
below 36 oC.

Fig. 2 Average temperature of battery module for 10 PPI Fig. 3 Average temperature of battery module for 20 PPI
aluminum foam. aluminum foam.
 Lip Huat Saw et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 4751 – 4756 4755

3.2. Variation of temperature

If the uniformity of battery temperature within and between modules can be maintained, the battery
pack can operate at its optimum operating temperature window. Therefore, variation of temperature is
another important parameter not to be overlooked. There are no significant difference in the variation of
temperature for aluminum foam with different pores density and porosity. At 10 gs-1 of cooling air,
variation of temperature across the battery module is about 8 oC for all aluminum foams regardless pore
density and porosity. At least 15 gs-1 of cooling air is needed to achieve a variation of temperature less
than 5 oC.

3.3. Friction factor

Friction factor for 10 and 20 PPI aluminum foam with different porosities is shown in Fig. 4 and Fig.
5, respectively. As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, friction factor is reduced when the Reynolds number is
increased. Furthermore, friction factor is positively correlated with pore density and reduced with increase
in porosity of aluminum foam. Among 10 PPI samples, aluminum foam with porosity of 0.918 possessed
the lowest friction factor. Similar trend is also observed for 20 PPI samples, lowest friction factor is
obtained for sample with porosity of 0.924. Among two different pores density samples with porosity
more than 90%, 20 PPI aluminum foam has the highest friction factor and pressure drop. As the void area
of the aluminum foam decreased, friction factor of aluminum foam is also increased and this will
introduce higher flow resistance. Increasing pore density will result increase of cell filament and
indirectly increase the drag of the cooling air and friction factor.

Fig. 4 Friction factor of the 10 PPI aluminum foam. Fig. 5 Friction factor of the 20 PPI aluminum foam.

Among the aluminum foams being investigated, 10 PPI of aluminum foam with porosity of 0.918
offered the highest thermal performance and lowest friction factor. Hence, this aluminum foam is a good
candidate to replace conventional heat sink or liquid cold plate for the thermal management system in the
Li-ion battery pack. Although using aluminum foam as a heat transfer media will incur additional
pressure loss, the aluminum foam will offer greater advantage in term of heat transfer enhancement and
overall weight reduction. Therefore, aluminum foam heat sink will bring extra value to electric vehicle
where overall weight is very critical to achieve longer mileage.

4. Conclusions

Steady state computational thermal fluid analysis was employed to analyse the thermal performance of
Li-ion battery module with aluminum foam heat sink. Performance of 10 and 20 PPI aluminum foam with
various porosity were evaluated numerically with the experimental data from literature study. Simulation
results showed that average temperature and variation of temperature in the battery module are negatively
4756 Lip Huat Saw et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 4751 – 4756

correlated to mass flow rate of cooling air. Low porosity aluminum foam will have more filament
material and larger effective heat transfer surface. This will create turbulent flow and enhanced overall
thermal performance. Thus, it is showed that aluminium foam with lower porosity will result lower
battery module surface temperature. Friction factor is positively correlated with mass flow rate of cooling
air. Friction factor is reduced with increasing of mean pore diameter for a similar porosity aluminum
foam. Furthermore, friction factor of aluminum foam is also increased with reducing porosity for the
same pore density. This is due to growing of cell filament obstructing the fluid path and overall flow area
is reduced. Among the sample being investigated, 10 PPI aluminum foam with porosity of 0.918 offered
the highest thermal performance and the lowest pressure drop. About 20 gs-1 of cooling air is sufficient to
ensure the Li-ion battery module operates at its optimum temperature range. Hence, it is proven that,
aluminum foam can be used as heat transfer media for Li-ion battery pack.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by UTAR Research Fund Grant No. IPSR/RMC/UTARRF/2016-C1/B2.

References

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Biography
Bernard Saw received his PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from the National
University of Singapore in 2015. He is currently an assistant professor in Department of
Mechanical and Material Engineering, UTAR, Malaysia. His expertise include thermal
management, modeling and simulation of battery, electric vehicle and CFD.