Battery thermal management system using loop heat pipe with LTP copper capillary wick

Loop heat pipes (LHPs) with Lotus-Type Porous Copper (LTP Copper) capillary wick are expected to be applied to battery thermal management systems for safe operation at high performance with a long service life. Sintered LTP Copper is a high permeability porous metal with an excellent capillary pumping characteristic. The objective of this work is to determine the performance of the battery thermal management system using LHP with sintered LTP Copper capillary wick experimentally. The experiment used two battery simulators made of aluminum. The heat generation of the battery was simulated using cartridge heaters. The LHP was made of 10 m OD copper tube, and the sintered LTP Copper capillary wick was placed in the liquid line. Water was used as working fluid with filling ratio of 50%. The evaporator section of the LHP was inserted between the battery simulators surfaces. A thermostatic bath was used to regulate the condenser cooling fluid temperature. K-type 0.3 mm thermocouples were used for temperature measurement, and a digital power meter was used to measure the electric power. Experiments were conducted with various heating power with the condenser cooling fluid temperature was kept at 28°C. At a heat generation of 20 W, the LHP was capable of maintaining the battery surface temperature below 50°C. At a heat generation of 40 W, the utilization of LHP with LTP Copper can reduce the average battery simulator surface temperature from 93°C to 65°C.