Numerical Simulation of Heat-release Characteristics of Water-cooled High-current Charging Cable Based on Thermal Conductivity of Filler

As the demand for rapid charging of high currents for electric vehicles increases, proper heat release of the heat generated in the copper wires of the charging cable due to dissipated energy by the electrical resistance of the wires has become a major issue. In this study, the heat-release characteristics of a water-cooled high-current charging cable were investigated through numerical analysis. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the filler material for efficient heat release is presented. The cable to be analyzed was 5 m long with a 70-mm diameter, and the thermal conductivity of the filler varied from 0.1 to 9 W/m·K. When the current was 400 A and cooling water was not used, the temperature of the electric wire increased to 375.5 K, which indicates that cooling water must be used. The maximum temperature of the cable, maximum temperature of the sheath, temperature distribution of the cable cross section, and heat dissipation fraction to the cooling water and atmosphere were all calculated. The appropriate thermal conductivity of the filler material was determined to be 3.0 W/m·K.