Paper Title
PASSIVE THERMAL BUFFERING IN EV BATTERY MODULES: A GEOMETRY-BASED PCM HEAT TRANSFER MODEL

Abstract
Thermal runaway and heat accumulation during high-rate discharge remain critical challenges in electric vehicle battery management. Conventional approaches rely on empirical utilization factors that obscure the underlying heat transfer physics and limit design predictability. This study presents a geometry-based analytical model for passive Phase Change Material thermal buffering in EV battery modules, replacing the utilization factor with an explicit heat transfer formulation: Q_PCM= h_eff×A_eff×∇T. Applied to a 50 kg module under a 2,000 W heat load, the model shows that a 3 kg paraffin PCM layer reduces peak battery temperature from 97°C to 85°C; a 12.4% improvement over the unmanaged baseline. Sensitivity analysis identifies a critical transition between rate-limited and energy-limited performance regimes, offering direct design guidance for fin geometry and conductivity enhancement without experimental recalibration.