Experimental and numerical thermal analysis of a lithium-ion battery module based on a novel liquid cooling plate embedded with phase change material

In this paper, the thermal behavior of a battery module based on a novel liquid cooling plate (LCP) is experimentally and numerically studied. The cooling plate is embedded with phase change material (PCM), and it is named a hybrid LCP as it provides a combination of active (liquid) and passive (PCM) cooling methods for battery with a modular design. The cooling performance of the proposed thermal management system is investigated for three cases, including low currents with pure passive cooling, medium currents with triggered liquid cooling, and high currents with constant liquid cooling. Additionally, the potential of the PCM in preventing the switched-off module from a fast temperature drop in cold environments is examined. The thermal performance of the hybrid LCP is numerically compared with a conventional aluminum LCP of the same dimension. The results indicate that pure passive cooling is able to keep the module temperature in the desired range at low currents. The hybrid LCP reduces the energy consumption of the pump by around 40% during the triggered liquid cooling. The cold temperature investigations show that the hybrid LCP is able to keep the module 5.5 C higher than a module with aluminum LCP after 1.5 h in a cold environment of 0 C, that can reduce the energy needed for warming the batteries up. Based on the results of this research, the proposed hybrid LCP could be a promising solution for utilizing PCMs in combination with liquid cooling for battery thermal management in electric vehicles.