Improved thermal performance of a large laminated lithium-ion power battery by reciprocating air flow

Thermal safety issues are increasingly critical for large-size laminated Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs). Despite a number of investigations conducted on the Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) with reciprocating air-flow cooling, large laminated power LIBs are still not sufficiently investigated, particularly in the view of battery thermal characteristics. The present study investigates the thermal behaviors of an air-cooled NCM-type LIB (LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 as cathode) from an experimental and systematic approach. The temperature distribution was acquired from different Depth of Discharge (DOD) by the infrared imaging (IR) technology. A reciprocating air-flow cooling method was proposed to restrict the temperature fluctuation and homogenize temperature distribution. Results showed that there was a remarkable temperature distribution phenomenon during the discharge process, the temperature distribution was affected by direction of air-flow. Forward air-flow (from current collector side to lower part of battery) was always recommended at the beginning of the discharge due to the thermal characteristics of the battery. After comprehensive consideration on battery temperature limit and cooling effect, the desired initial reversing timing was about 50% DOD at 3 C discharge rate. Different reversing strategies were investigated including isochronous cycles and aperiodic cycles. It was found that the temperature non-uniformity caused by heat accumulation and concentration was mitigated by reciprocating air-flow with optimized reversing strategy.