THERMAL SCIENCE
International Scientific Journal
Find this paper on
STUDY ON PREHEATING AND TEMPERATURE MAINTENANCE PERFORMANCE OF AN INTEGRATED THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DURING CHARGING
ABSTRACT
In low-temperature environments, incomplete internal reactions during charging and discharging can degrade battery capacity and reduce efficiency. To address this, the study explores the use of electric heating films for preheating and thermal insulation in a battery thermal management system, integrated with phase-change liquid cooling for temperature control and thermal runaway suppression. First, the impact of heat flux density and heating surface layouts on heating efficiency was analyzed with the liquid cooling system deactivated. The results show that heat flux density significantly affects temperature differences during preheating. Simultaneously heating the minor side and bottom surfaces improves preheating efficiency, and heating both the battery and battery thermal management system together reduces the temperature difference. With a heating power of 2000 [Wm-2], the battery reached 25°C from an initial temperature of 0°C in 1769 seconds. In the 1 C charging and thermal maintenance phase, activating the liquid cooling system and setting the heating power to 200 [Wm-2] kept the minimum battery temperature around 27°C, with a temperature difference of 2.6°C.
KEYWORDS
Lithium-ion batteries, phase change material structure, porous metal foam, liquid cooling tube, preheating
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2026-01-26
PAPER REVISED: 2026-03-16
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2026-05-13
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2026-06-20
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI260126071L
REFERENCES
[1] Wu, S. J., et al., The State of the Art on Preheating Lithium-Ion Batteries in Cold Weather, Journal of Energy Storage, 27 (2020), 101059, 10.1016/j.est.2019.101059
[2] Lei, Z. G., Zhai, J. W., Comparison Between Detailed Model and Simplified Models of a Li-Ion Battery Heated at Low Temperatures, Thermal Science, 27(2023), pp.1265-1275, 10.2298/TSCI220128175L
[3] Liu, Y. J., et al., Temperature-Aware Charging Strategy for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Adaptive Current Sequences in Cold Environments, Applied Energy, 352 (2023), 121945 A G E, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121945P
[4] Cui, W., et al., Modeling and Research on High-Frequency AC Heating System for Lithium-Ion Battery Based on Bidirectional Buck-Boost Topology, Applied Thermal Engineering, 254 (2024), 123890, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123890
[5] Ghassemi, A., et al., Impact of High-Amplitude Alternating Current on LiFePO4 Battery Life Performance: Investigation of AC-Preheating and Microcycling Effects, Applied Energy, 314 (2022), 118940, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118940
[6] Tang, A. H., et al., Orthogonal Design Based Pulse Preheating Strategy for Cold Lithium-Ion Batteries, Applied Energy, 355 (2024), 122277, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122277
[7] Zhuang, Z. X., et al., Distribution of Relaxation Times-Based Analysis of Aging Mechanisms and Prediction of Heating Domain for Alternating Current Pulse Self-Heating Lithium-Ion Batteries, Journal of Power Sources, 623 (2024), 235442, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.235442
[8] Wang, Y. J., et al., Low Temperature Preheating Techniques for Lithium-Ion Batteries: Recent Advances and Future Challenges, Applied Energy, 313 (2022), 118832, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118832
[9] Xu, X. B., et al., Low Cost Energy-Efficient Preheating of Battery Module Integrated with Air Cooling Based on a Heat Spreader Plate, Applied Thermal Engineering, 232 (2023), 121024, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.121024
[10] Bao, J. K., et al., Experimental Study on Liquid Immersion Preheating of Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Low Temperature Environment, Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 60 (2024), 104759, 10.1016/j.csite.2024.104759
[11] An, Z. G., et al., Cooling and Preheating Performance of Dual-Active Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Management System Under Harsh Conditions, Applied Thermal Engineering, 242 (2024), 122421, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.122421
[12] Zhong, Q. X., et al., A Novel Preheating Systems for Columnar Lithium Batteries for Below Zero Degrees Celsius Environment Based on Topology Optimization, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 158 (2024), 107789, 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2024.107789
[13] Ren, R. Y., et al., Experimental Study on Preheating Thermal Management System for Lithium-Ion Battery Based on U-Shaped Micro Heat Pipe Array, Energy, 253 (2022), 124178, 10.1016/j.energy.2022.124178
[14] Liang, L., et al., Experimental Investigation of Preheating Performance of Lithium-Ion Battery Modules in Electric Vehicles Enhanced by Bending Flat Micro Heat Pipe Array, Applied Energy, 337 (2023), 120896, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120896
[15] Chen, Z. G., et al., Numerical Investigation and Optimization of Battery Thermal Management Systems Based on Phase Change Material Coupled with Heating Plates in Low Temperature Environment, Journal of Energy Storage, 101 (2024), 113875, 10.1016/j.est.2024.113875
[16] An, Z. G., et al., Cooling and Preheating Behavior of Compact Power Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Management System, Applied Thermal Engineering, 226 (2023), 120238, P A G E, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120238
[17] Zhang, J. Y., et al., Experimental Study on the Low-Temperature Preheating Performance of Positive-Temperature-Coefficient Heating Film in the Prismatic Power Battery Module, Applied Thermal Engineering, 258 (2025), 124798, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.124798
[18] E, J. Q., et al., Effects of Heating Film and Phase Change Material on Preheating Performance of the Lithium-Ion Battery Pack with Large Capacity Under Low Temperature Environment, Energy, 284 (2023), 129280, 10.1016/j.energy.2023.129280
[19] Liu, Y., et al., Role of Porous Metal Foam on Temperature Control and Thermal Runaway Propagation of Integrated Battery Thermal Management Systems, Applied Thermal Engineering, 267 (2025), 125712, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.125712
[20] Zhang, W. C., et al., Influence of Phase Change Material Dosage on the Heat Dissipation Performance of the Battery Thermal Management System, Journal of Energy Storage, 41 (2021), 102849, 10.1016/j.est.2021.102849
[21] Xu, X. B., et al., Performance Analysis of Thermal Management Systems for Prismatic Battery Module with Modularized Liquid-Cooling Plate and PCM-Negative Poisson's Ratio Structural Laminboard, Energy, 286 (2024), 129620, 10.1016/j.energy.2023.129620
[22] Zhou, H. B., et al., Thermal Performance of A Hybrid Thermal Management System that Couples PCM/Copper Foam Composite with Air-Jet and Liquid Cooling, Journal of Energy Storage, 74 (2023), 109408, 10.1016/j.est.2023.109408
[23] Malik, M., et al., Review on Use of Phase Change Materials in Battery Thermal Management for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles, International Journal of Energy Research, 40 (2016), 8, pp. 1011-1031, 10.1002/er.3496
[24] Zhang, W. C., et al., Avoiding Thermal Runaway Propagation of Lithium-Ion Battery Modules by Using Hybrid Phase Change Material and Liquid Cooling, Applied Thermal Engineering, 184 (2021), 116380, 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116380
[25] Li, W. H., et al., Design and Optimization of an Integrated Liquid Cooling Thermal Management System with a Diamond-Type Channel, Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 47 (2024), 102325, 10.1016/j.tsep.2023.102325
[26] Li, Y., et al., Battery Thermal Management Model and Structure Optimization of Porous Composite Phase Change Material, Chinese Science Bulletin, 65 (2019), 2, pp. 213-221, 10.1360/tb-2019-0285
[27] Yang, X. H., et al., Role of Porous Metal Foam on the Heat Transfer Enhancement for a Thermal Energy Storage Tube, Applied Energy, 239 (2019), pp.142-156, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.075
[28] Zhang, W. C., et al., Non-Uniform Phase Change Material Strategy for Directional Mitigation of Battery Thermal Runaway Propagation, Renewable Energy, 200 (2022), pp.1338-1351 A G E, 10.1016/j.renene.2022.10.070P
© 2026 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence


