Numerical investigations on heat transfer enhancement and energy flow distribution for interlayer battery thermal management system using Tesla-valve mini-channel cooling

Targeted at addressing cooling concerns of high power Cell-Pack, a novel interlayer battery thermal management system applying Tesla-valve mini-channel is proposed. The effect of cold plate position and Tesla-valve channel parameters is investigated to obtain optimal thermal performance through coupled battery cold-plate simulations with a 2C-discharge rate and wide Re range. Compared to main face cooling, side face cooling demonstrates more favorable thermal performance with decreasing maximum temperature and maximum temperature difference by 5.6 degrees C and 8.5 degrees C respectively. With application of forward Tesla-valve mini-channel, the maximum temperature decreases by 3.8 degrees C compared to straight mini channel at a moderate Re of 500. This prior thermal performance is corresponded to the even distributed heat transfer enhancement zones with flow fluctuations. Furtherly, the thermal-hydraulic performance is optimized by channel number, Tesla valve number and contraflow design with doubled Nusselt number and normalized thermal performance factor, maintaining the maximum temperature below 38 degrees C at a higher discharge current of 210 A. Consequently, the optimal forward Tesla-valve mini-channel owns considerable cooling efficiency factor of 369 and the highest energy flow percentage of 59.2% compared to the straight mini-channel, demonstrating the improved thermal-hydraulic performance and cooling efficiency.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel interlayer battery thermal management system using a Tesla-valve mini-channel is proposed to address the cooling concerns of high power Cell-Pack. The effect of cold plate position and Tesla-valve channel parameters on thermal performance is investigated through simulations. The results show that side face cooling outperforms main face cooling, with a decrease in maximum temperature and maximum temperature difference of 5.6°C and 8.5°C, respectively. By applying a forward Tesla-valve mini-channel, the maximum temperature decreases by 3.8°C compared to a straight mini-channel at a moderate Re of 500. Further optimization of the thermal-hydraulic performance is achieved by adjusting the channel number, Tesla valve number, and contraflow design, resulting in improved cooling efficiency and thermal performance.