Study of structure optimization and thermal spread suppression based on liquid-cooled battery modules

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2022.0231

Abstract

Abstract:

This study explores the structure of a novel type of liquid-cooled shell battery module using a numerical simulation method. Experiments were used to investigate the liquid-cooled shell structure's heat dissipation and spread suppression characteristics. The module comprised 4 × 5 cylindrical batteries, the liquid-cooled shell, and multiple flow channels inside the shell for the coolant flow. The equivalent circuit model (ECM) of the battery module was established to simulate the battery's heat generation while studying the influence of the internal flow channel arrangement on thermal performance. The maximum temperature, maximum temperature difference, and inlet and outlet pressure drop of the battery module were taken as the performance evaluation indexes, and the expectation function was introduced to obtain the shell's optimal flow channel arrangement. A liquid cooling shell with a single inlet and two outlets was prepared based on the optimized flow channel. A 18650 real battery module was assembled for the thermal performance experimental study. Notably, the thermal performance of the single-in-two-out structure outperformed that of the single-in-one-out structure. Compared with the baseline case, the maximum temperature of the optimized flow channel Case 1 (one in and two out on the short side) increased by 0.3%, but the temperature difference decreased by 8.87%, and the pressure difference decreased by 66.5% under a 3 C discharge and 1 m/s inlet flow rate. In the real battery module experiment, the higher the charge and discharge rates, the higher the battery temperature and the greater the influence of the joule effect of the bus discharge. A low-temperature coolant will lead to low discharge efficiency of the battery module. Finally, a high-power battery heat generation model was used to simulate the thermal runaway. The experimental results revealed that the temperature of adjacent batteries was 57.4 ℃ and that thermal runaway and thermal spread did not occur under 600 W of power. In other words, the new liquid-cooled shell had the functions of both heat dissipation and suppression of thermal propagation.

Key words: liquid-cooled shell structure, ECM model, optimization of flow permutation, experiment test, thermal propagation

CLC Number:

O 646.21

Jiajun ZHU, Hengyun ZHANG, Kangdi XU, Shen XU, Peichao LI. Study of structure optimization and thermal spread suppression based on liquid-cooled battery modules[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2022, 11(8): 2620-2628.

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材料	密度 /(kg/m³)	比热容 /[J/(kg·K)]	导热系数 /[W/(m·K)]	动力黏度 /[kg/(m·s)]
水	996.95	4178.5	0.6	9.02×10^-4
电池	2510	1028	36.96(X)/1.63(Y/Z)	—
正极极耳	2791	871	155	—
负极极耳	8978	381	387.6	—
导热壳体	2791	871	155	—
汇流排	8900	460.6	91.7	—

Case	T_max/℃	ΔT/℃	ΔP/Pa	期望函数值
基准情形	30.07	4.62	1956	0.0637
情形1	30.18	4.21	646	0.2445
情形2	30.36	4.48	549	0.2004
情形3	30.23	4.44	479	0.2219
情形4	30.29	4.34	639	0.2189
情形5	30.81	4.66	525	0.1167
情形6	30.53	4.57	487	0.1720