Electro-thermal interactions and equalization behaviors in a module-scale immersion cooling battery system
摘要
The interaction between electrical and thermal characteristics is a pivotal issue for batteries. Especially for battery modules, the electro-thermal interaction between discrete power and heat sources leads to a veiled overall performance. To elucidate the interactions under different cooling modes, this study experimentally monitors the electro-thermal behaviors at both the module and cell levels under natural air cooling (NAC) and static flow immersion cooling (SFIC). Results show that within the 0.75–1.75 C discharge range, the voltage deviation of the SFIC module stabilizes at around 9%, significantly outperforming the NAC module. Furthermore, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis is employed for the first time to quantitatively compare the electro-thermal interactions of modules under the two cooling modes. The NAC module demonstrates a very strong electro-thermal correlation strength, with correlation coefficients between temperature difference and electrical parameters reaching up to 0.96. In contrast, the correlations are substantially weakened under SFIC, indicating that the conventional state estimation models—which rely heavily on strong electro-thermal coupling—may be less applicable in immersion-cooled environments. Additionally, the SFIC module exhibits a stable equalization plateau when the average temperature and temperature difference of the module are maintained within 29°C–40°C and 1.1°C–2.3°C, respectively. However, the NAC module shows continuous deterioration in equalization as thermal parameters increase. These findings not only reveal previously unnoticed advantages of battery immersion cooling but also provide quantitative guidance for the optimized design of such systems.