Investigation on Thermal Performance of Battery Cooling Plate for Lithium-ion Battery

Electric Vehicles are regarded to be the most effective way to lower emissions of greenhouse gases from transportation industry. Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable and ideally suited for vehicle electrification due to their high specific energy and energy density in comparison to others. Electric Vehicle performance greatly depends on efficient operation of Li-ion Battery. Battery thermal management plays a crucial role in ensuring the optimum vehicle operation. Heat dissipation from the battery should be dealt with, for safe operation and to prolong the battery life cycle. To achieve the battery’s optimal temperature, an efficient cooling system should be established. Battery cooling plate is an essential component which is necessary for heat transfer from battery pack to coolant. Four different battery cooling plates such as dimple, U shaped, Splitter, Serpentine with varying profiles are modeled for computational fluid dynamics simulation. Models are compared based on pressure drop, heat transfer rate, fluid velocity and temperature distribution. Based on the results, the model with optimum performance is found and the impact of profile dimensions are studied. Thus reducing the work done by pump and increasing the battery capacity and the range of electric vehicle.