A gradient channel-based novel design of liquid-cooled battery thermal management system for thermal uniformity improvement. (April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gao, Renjing; Fan, Zhaohui; Liu, Shutian
• Is Part Of: Journal of energy storage. Volume 48(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-04
• Subjects: Battery thermal management system -- Gradient channel design -- Liquid cooling -- Lithium-ion battery; BTMS battery thermal management system -- LIB lithium-ion battery -- DoD depth of discharge -- PCM phase change materials -- CFD computation fluid dynamics -- HGR heat generation rate -- GCD gradient channel design -- ULCD uniform large channel design -- USCD uniform small channel design -- CCCV constant current and constant voltage; Energy storage -- Periodicals; Energy storage -- Research -- Periodicals; 621.3126
• DOI: 10.1016/j.est.2022.104014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-152X

Abstract

Highlights: A novel gradient channel-based design of liquid-cooled BTMS is proposed. The heat generation rate of the battery is obtained by experiments. The thermal uniformity of the battery module is significantly enhanced by GCD. The optimal 2-segment GCD can further enhance the cooling performance of the BTMS. The temperature difference of the optimal GCD is reduced in the whole inlet flow range, especially at low inlet flow rates. Abstract: Liquid-cooled battery thermal management system (BTMS) is significant to enhance safety and efficiency of electric vehicles. However, the temperature gradient of the coolant along the flow direction has been a barrier for thermal uniformity improvement of the battery module. In this study, a novel design of BTMS based on gradient channels along the flow direction is developed and applied to a cylindrical lithium-ion battery module. Compared with the uniform channel designs, the gradient channel design (GCD) obviously changes the basic feature of temperature's monotonic rise along the flow direction. The number of segments and the combination of segment lengths are optimized. The results show that the 2-segment gradient channel with combination of the segment lengths of 60 mm/120 mm is the optimal GCD for thermal uniformity improvement. At the inlet flow rate of 360 ml/min, the temperature difference of the optimal GCD decreases by 79.2% and 60.2% than that of the uniform large channel design and the uniform small channel design, respectively. Furthermore, the optimal GCD significantly enhances the thermal uniformity in the whole flow range, especially at low inlet flow rates, which is effective to mitigate external power consumption.