Multi-objective topology optimization of cold plates featuring branched and streamlined mini-channels for thermal management system of lithium-ion battery module
Mao-Sung Wu
Abstract
A trade-off between increasing the thermal performance of the cold plate and reducing the energy requirement of the pumping system is a big problem so far and needs to be dealt with. This study implements a novel design for aluminum cold plates using multi-objective topology optimization to effectively cool a battery thermal management system composed of twenty prismatic lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The velocity, temperature, and pressure fields are calculated with a finite element method . Numerical results obtained from computational fluid dynamics show that the optimized cold plate with branched and streamlined mini-channels has the advantage of reducing pressure drop and improving comprehensive heat transfer performance. Using the optimized cold plate, the average temperature of the hottest LIB, the maximum average temperature deviation between LIBs, and the pressure drop can be decreased by 10.3 %, 59.4 %, and 23.9 %, respectively, compared to the conventional one under an inlet velocity of 0.4 m s −1 . The optimized cold plate is an effective heat exchanger to cool the LIBs, which exhibits a 63.0 % growth in heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number compared to the conventional one using identical inlet velocity of water coolant.