A lightweight and low-cost liquid-cooled thermal management solution for high energy density prismatic lithium-ion battery packs

Upgrading the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is restricted by the thermal management technology of battery packs. In order to improve the battery energy density, this paper recommends an F2-type liquid cooling system with an M mode arrangement of cooling plates, which can fully adapt to 1C battery charge–discharge conditions. We provide a specific thermal management design for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage power stations. In addition, the influence of the type of liquid cooling system, discharge rate, inlet temperature and flow rate are investigated, along with the effect of cooling plate arrangement on the temperature uniformity, maximum temperature, cooling efficiency factor and comprehensive heat transfer performance of cooling systems. The experimental results showed that the F2-type liquid cooling system has more advantages in cooling efficiency and comprehensive heat transfer performance than other liquid cooling systems. The best arrangement mode is M and the optimal inlet temperature is approximately 18.75 ℃. The upper limits of cooling water rate of flow at different charging and discharging rates are also determined. Cooling water rates of flow should be no less than 6 and 12 L/h when batteries are discharged at the rates of 1 and 2C, respectively.