Numerical simulation and performance analysis of a wet cooling system for lithium-ion batteries

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2024.0804

Abstract

Abstract:

The thermal management system of electric vehicle batteries is crucial in cooling the battery. In this study, we propose a wet cooling system for lithium-ion batteries. The wet cooling system consists of two cooling stages. The first stage involves precooling the air via spray evaporation, and the second stage involves the formation of a liquid film on the battery surface via spraying. The liquid films evaporate under air flow which then cools the battery. To study the influence of various factors on spray evaporation and liquid-film evaporation, computational fluid dynamics analysis of the wet cooling system was carried out using Fluent software. The effects of spray mass flow, wind speed, air humidity, droplet size, and air pressure on the cooling performance of both stages were explored. The simulation results show that the effects of spray mass flow rate and wind speed are different for both stages, whereas the effects of air humidity, droplet size, and air pressure on both stages are identical. The effectiveness of air precooling in the first stage increases with higher spray mass flow rates and decreases with increasing wind speeds. Lower humidity, smaller particle size, and reduced air pressure favor both cooling stages. The position of the nozzle has an impact on the spray evaporation, and an adequate distance between the nozzle and the battery is more effective for the air precooling of the spray. To provide better cooling conditions for both stages, the spray mass flow rate and wind speed were improved in stages. After the improvement, the air precooling capacity of the first stage was augmented through a reduction in both wind velocity and spray mass flow rate. In the second stage, the battery was subjected to increased wind velocity and a more uniform liquid-film distribution. This resulted in a 1.9 ℃ decrease in the battery's average temperature and a 1.7 ℃ reduction in its maximum temperature differential.

Key words: lithium battery, wet cooling system, spray cooling influencing factors, phased cooling

CLC Number:

TK 02

Jiawei LI, Zhen LIU. Numerical simulation and performance analysis of a wet cooling system for lithium-ion batteries[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2025, 14(2): 717-727.

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模型参数	数值
电池密度	2261 kg/m³
电池比热容	933.7 J/(kg·K)
电池X方向热导系数	4.43 W/(m·K)
电池Y方向热导系数	0.82 W/(m·K)
电池Z方向热导系数	2.72 W/(m·K)
液滴密度	1000 kg/m³
液滴比热容	4200 J/(kg·K)
液滴导热系数	0.59 W/(m·K)
液滴潜热	2260 kJ/kg
空气初始温度	25 ℃

网格数量	最高温度/℃
26708	26.51
52182	27.12
115756	27.86
709544	28.28
1214291	28.73

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