Numerical modeling and experimental investigation of a prismatic battery subjected to water cooling

Abstract

In this paper, a numerical model using ANSYS Fluent for a minichannel cold plate is developed for water-cooled LiFePO4 battery. The temperature and velocity distributions are investigated using experimental and computational approach at different C-rates and boundary conditions (BCs). In this regard, a battery thermal management system (BTMS) with water cooling is designed and developed for a pouch-type LiFePO4 battery using dual cold plates placed one on top and the other at the bottom of a battery. For these tasks, the battery is discharged at high discharge rates of 3C (60 A) and 4C (80 A) and with various BCs of 5°C, 15°C, and 25°C with water cooling in order to provide quantitative data regarding the thermal behavior of lithium-ion batteries. Computationally, a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was also developed for a minichannel cold plate, and the simulated data are then validated with the experimental data for temperature profiles. The present results show that increased discharge rates (between 3C and 4C) and increased operating temperature or bath temperature (between 5°C, 15°C, and 25°C) result in increased temperature at cold plates as experimentally measured. Furthermore, the sensors nearest the electrodes (anode and cathode) measured the higher temperatures than the sensors located at the center of the battery surface.