关键词: 超级电容, 热管理, 液冷板, 数值模拟

Abstract:

Supercapacitor modules are considered as the future power source for trams owing to their capability to charge and discharge fast, along with the ability to meet high power requirements. However, during operation and the charging/discharging process, supercapacitor modules generate a substantial amount of heat, resulting in a rapid temperature. To address this issue, this study proposes a thermal management approach using microchannel liquid cooling. This method involves pumping low-temperature fluid within the microchannels of a liquid-cooled plate to cool down supercapacitor cells. By altering the boundary conditions, the working temperature of supercapacitor cells can be maintained within the appropriate range under different heat dissipation conditions. To compare the performance of the liquid-cooled plate, three models of microchannel liquid cooling plates were designed herein, and numerical simulations were conducted using ANSYS software. A new prediction model for the maximum temperature of the liquid-cooled plate was established, and the effects of boundary conditions on the performance of the new liquid-cooled plate were studied. The results indicate that the design-3 model of the liquid-cooled plate demonstrates good flow and heat dissipation performance. Increasing the mass flow rate of the cooling fluid effectively reduces the maximum temperature difference and the highest temperature of supercapacitor cells, thereby improving the uniform temperature distribution among the cells. However, as the mass flow rate of the cooling fluid increases to 0.35 kg/s, the reduction in the highest temperature of supercapacitor cells gradually decreases, indicating limited improvement in its heat dissipation performance. Increasing the flow rate also increases energy losses in the thermal management system. The temperature difference among supercapacitor cells continuously decreases when increasing the inlet temperature of the cooling fluid. However, the inlet temperature of the cooling fluid has minimal impact on the uniform temperature distribution among the cells.

Key words: supercapacitor, thermal management, liquid cooling plate, numerical simulation