Investigations on a novel cold plate achieved by topology optimization for lithium-ion batteries

A necessary research topic about thermal management design of lithium-ion batteries has been attracted extensive attentions. A novel cold plate designed by topology optimization method for lithium-ion batteries under 3 C discharge rate is proposed in this paper. Different types of topology mini-channel models are obtained by using double objective optimization functions. The numerical simulation is realized by three-dimensional electrochemical-thermal coupling model in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4. The effects of cold plate type, channel depth and mass flow rate on lithium-ion batteries are studied, and the cooling performance is evaluated. Compared with the straight mini-channel, the topology mini-channel cooling performance can be improved by 61.82%. The topology mini-channel with four stagger-inlet, flow depth of 4 mm, inlet width of 6 mm and mass flow rate of 3 x 10(-3) kg s-1 is considered as the best choice for cooling 20 Ah pouch type LiFePO4 battery, and the pressure drop, j/f factor and heat transfer coefficient are 17.5 Pa, 0.41 and 1068.55 W m- 2 K-1, respectively. Finally, the optimal topology configuration is tested experimentally, and the experimental results prove the correctness of the simulation results.

Automated summary

A novel cold plate designed through topology optimization method was proposed for thermal management of lithium-ion batteries under 3C discharge rate. The effects of different topology mini-channel models on lithium-ion batteries were studied using numerical simulation, and it was found that compared to straight mini-channels, the topology mini-channels can improve cooling performance by 61.82%.