Heat sink

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Cell balancing

Equalising the state of charge of cells in series, since the pack is limited by its emptiest cell on discharge and its fullest on charge. Passive balancing bleeds charge from high cells through resistors; active balancing moves it between cells.

Heat pipe

A sealed tube holding a little working fluid that evaporates at the hot end, condenses at the cold end and returns through a wick. It moves heat with an effective conductivity many times that of copper and little temperature drop. Common in electronics, it has been studied for spreading heat along cells, but packs still rely on cooling plates.

Heat transfer coefficient

The heat carried away per unit area per kelvin of difference between a surface and the fluid passing it. Typical values are 5–25 W/(m²·K) for still air, 25–250 for forced air and hundreds to thousands for pumped liquid, which is why fast-charging packs are liquid-cooled. Thermal models use it as their cooling boundary.

Passive thermal management

Controlling battery temperature without pumps, fans or compressors. Heat leaves by conduction to the enclosure and natural convection, sometimes helped by fins or phase change material, while insulation slows heat gain in summer and keeps a parked pack warm in winter. It suits small, low-power packs such as phones and e-bikes, not fast-charging vehicles.

Radiator

A finned coolant-to-air heat exchanger, usually behind the vehicle’s front grille, through which a fan draws air. It can only cool the coolant to a few degrees above the outside air, so it handles the battery in mild weather and the chiller takes over when it is hot or the charging load is high.

References & further reading

Technical references

1. University Physics Volume 2, §1.6: Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

   OpenStax, Rice University

   Technical reference · Conduction, convection, radiation and thermal resistance.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

2. A General Energy Balance for Battery Systems

   Dawn Bernardi, Ellen Pawlikowski, John Newman · Journal of The Electrochemical Society · 1985

   Topic background · Battery energy balance and irreversible and reversible heat contributions. Reduced thermal models require explicit assumptions and current-sign conventions.