Channel-topology-based thermal performance assessment of liquid cold plates for a pouch lithium-ion battery module
摘要
Channel topology in a liquid-cooling plate (LCP) strongly influences temperature control in high-rate pouch lithium-ion battery (LiB) modules. In this study, a 10-cell series pouch LiFePO4 module is analyzed using an NTGK-based heat generation framework coupled with anisotropic thermal properties. Three LCPs are compared, namely, a single serpentine S-shaped channel and two biomimetic configurations, fishbone and honeycomb. Simulations are performed at 4C and 5C discharge rates, while the coolant mass flow rate is varied from 0.25 to 2.0 g s-1. Thermal performance is evaluated in terms of the maximum temperature (Tmax) and temperature difference between cells (ΔT), and hydraulic performance is assessed based on pressure drop (ΔP). Increasing mass flow rate reduces both Tmax and ΔT for all layouts, with the largest improvement achieved when the flow is raised from 0.25 g s-1 to about 1 g s-1. At 4C and 0.25 g s-1, fishbone reaches Tmax = 308.17 K, whereas the S-shaped and honeycomb layouts remain around 305.6–305.8 K; at 1 g s-1, Tmax decreases to 304 K for fishbone and to roughly 302.8 K for the other two designs. In contrast, the S-shaped layout exhibits the highest hydraulic resistance, while the biomimetic layout reduces the ΔP by about 85%, thereby requiring substantially lower hydraulic power requirements. The honeycomb layout offers the most favorable total performance balance among the evaluated BTMS layouts under the tested operating conditions.