energies

Article
Modeling and Analysis of Heat Dissipation for Liquid Cooling
Lithium-Ion Batteries
Jiabin Duan 1 , Jiapei Zhao 1 , Xinke Li 1 , Satyam Panchal 2 , Jinliang Yuan 1, * , Roydon Fraser 2
and Michael Fowler 3

1 Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China;

1911084011@nbu.edu.cn (J.D.); zhaojiapei@nbu.edu.cn (J.Z.); 1811084007@nbu.edu.cn (X.L.)
2 Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue
West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada; satyam.panchal@uwaterloo.ca (S.P.); rafraser@uwaterloo.ca (R.F.)
3 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West,
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada; mfowler@uwaterloo.ca
* Correspondence: yuanjinliang@nbu.edu.cn; Tel.: +86-0547-87609795






Citation: Duan, J.; Zhao, J.; Li, X.;
Panchal, S.; Yuan, J.; Fraser, R.;
Fowler, M. Modeling and Analysis of
Heat Dissipation for Liquid Cooling
Lithium-Ion Batteries. Energies 2021,
14, 4187. https://doi.org/10.3390/
en14144187
Academic Editor: Carlos Miguel
Costa
Abstract: To ensure optimum working conditions for lithium-ion batteries, a numerical study is
carried out for three-dimensional temperature distribution of a battery liquid cooling system in this
work. The effect of channel size and inlet boundary conditions are evaluated on the temperature field
of the battery modules. Based on the thermal behavior of discharging battery obtained experimental
measurements, two temperature control strategies are proposed and studied. The results show that
the channel width of the cooling plates has a great influence on the maximum temperature in the
battery module. It is also revealed that increasing inlet water flow rate can significantly improve the
heat transfer capacity of the battery thermal management system, while the relationship between
them is not proportional. Lowering the inlet temperature can reduce the maximum temperature
predicted in the battery module significantly. However, this will also lead to additional energy
consumed by the cooling system. It is also found that the Scheme 5 among various temperature
control strategies can ensure the battery pack working in the best temperature range in different
depths of discharge. Compared with the traditional one with a given flow rate, the parasitic energy
consumption in Scheme 5 can be reduced by around 80%.
Keywords: battery thermal management system; lithium-ion battery; temperature control strategy;
heat dissipation; liquid cooling system

Received: 15 June 2021

Accepted: 9 July 2021 1. Introduction
Published: 11 July 2021
The global energy demand continues to increase with the economy growth. At present,
fossil fuels (e.g., oil, natural gas and coal) account for around 80% of the world’s energy
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
consumption [1], which has caused serious environmental issues, e.g., global warming.
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
Lithium-ion battery has been considered as the primary choice of clean power temperature
published maps and institutional affil-
due to its advantages, such as high energy density and long service life [2].
iations.
In the battery design process, Kukay et al. [3] improved the cyclic performance of the
thick cathodes and reduced the charge transfer resistance in the electrode by adjusting
the pH of the dispersion. Yamada [4] introduced an electrolyte design using the concept
of concentrated electrolytes. Wei et al. [5] proposed a novel parameterization method to
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
compensate for the noise-induced biases of model identification, which is very useful for
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
evaluating state of charge and efficient utilization of a battery system. However, the lithium-
This article is an open access article
ion batteries are sensitive to working temperature. The optimum operating temperature
distributed under the terms and
range is around 20–40 ◦ C, and the temperature difference between the batteries in a battery
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
pack should be controlled within 5 ◦ C [6,7]. Extremely high or low working temperature
not only increases attenuation rate of the lithium-ion batteries [8], but also results in a series
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
of safety problems, such as thermal runway [9], electrolyte fire or explosions. Therefore, it

Energies 2021, 14, 4187. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14144187 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

Energies 2021, 14, 4187 2 of 19

is essential to employ a thermal management system during the charging and discharging
process, particularly for big size battery packs.
At present, there are various thermal management approaches developed for the
lithium-ion batteries including air cooling, phase change material cooling, heat pipe cooling
and liquid cooling. Pesaran [10] proposed the air-cooling thermal management design,
in which the air-cooling method with low energy density is studied, and the issues of
using air as a cooling medium in battery module are observed, such as the limited heat
dissipation capacity, large disturbance from external changing of air-flow rate and potential
noise phenomena. Since the year 2000, when the phase change material (PCM) was first
used for thermal management of the lithium-ion batteries [11], it has attracted much
research attention on low thermal conductivity [12] and leakage issues [13]. In spite of
the advantage of high latent heat of PCM, the PCM-based thermal management system
is limited to laboratory-level characterization and has not been applied in real EV/HEV
battery packs. The heat pipe technology works on the principle of evaporative heat transfer
and has been widely used in heat storage systems. Wu et al. [14] first studied the thermal
dissipation system of the lithium-ion battery based on the heat pipe technology in 2002
and compared thermal performance of natural convection, forced convection and heat pipe
cooling methods during the battery discharging process. Their results show that the surface
temperature of the battery can be reduced to around 32 ◦C by the heat pipe cooling method.
A subsequent study [15] has also proved that the heat pipe cooling has a great potential
being applied in BTMS. However, due to a small contact area between the battery and the
heat pipe, as well as large volume requirement by the concerned system, it is not suitable
to use this technology as the main heat dissipation method at present. Compared with the
above cooling methods, liquid cooling is more efficient in terms of temperature control due
to its high thermal capacity. Therefore, liquid cooling systems have been considered as a
better choice for BTMS, especially for batteries with large energy densities.
Among the various liquid cooling methods, indirect-contact cooling is more practical
than direct-contact one [16]. The cooling media (such as water, glycol, etc.) for indirect-contact
cooling has a smaller viscosity and provides a larger flow r ate f or c o o ling. The indirect-
We are doing this contact cooling system consists of integrated channels and coolants in the cooling plates. The heat
generated from the battery is transferred through a metal plate to the flowing coolant, which is
then carried away via an electric p ump. There have been many studies on the influence of the
channel structures on the cooling performances or the battery temperature distribution [17,18], in
which the main attention is focused on the optimum parameters identified for a specific cooling
sy stem [1 9, 20 ]. Deng et al . [21] studied the influence on temperature distribution in a BTMS,
in terms of the number of the channels, channel layout and inlet temperature of the snake-
shaped cooling plates. It is predicted that the channel layout in the channel main flowing direction
had the most effective cooling performance for the serpentine cooling plate, and it is found that
this design could reduce the maximum temperature by 26 ◦C. Patil et al. [22] studied U-turn type
microchannel cooling plate. It is found that the cooling plate has a better cooling performance
with surface area coverage ratio = 0.75 and channel hydraulic diameter = 1.54 mm. Zhang et al.
[23] added flexible graphite b etween t he battery a nd the liquid-cooled plate. It was found that
the maximum temperature difference on the battery surface decreased from 7 ◦C to 2 ◦C,
indicating that the use of the flexible graphite can significantly improve the temperature
distribution uniformity within the battery pack. Huang et al. [24] found that both the inlet mass
flow rate and temperature have a large influence on the temperature field in the ba ttery pack.
H owever, w ith an in crease of the flow rate , the cooling capacity brought by a unit inlet flow
rate was reduced. It was also found that the response time of the cooling system lagged behind
the abrupt change of the inlet mass flow rate. The nonlinear correlation between the lagged time
and the discharging ratio was proposed, which is helpful for the precise control of the BTMS.
Concerning the indirect-contact liquid cooling, it was also found that there were many
factors affecting the performance of the cooling plates. In order to find an optimum
Energies 2021, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 19
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 3 of 19

combined parameter, a multi-objective optimization method for each individual parame-

combined
ter is needed.parameter, a multi-objective
Patil et al. [25] proposedoptimization
a method formethod for each individual
a comprehensive evaluationparameter
of the
is needed.
liquid Patil
cooling et al. The
BTMS. [25] proposed a method
multi-objective for a comprehensive
optimization using genetic evaluation
algorithm of was
the liquid
con-
coolingsubjected
ducted, BTMS. The to multi-objective
the constraints optimization using genetic
of operating conditions for algorithm was conducted,
optimum battery perfor-
subjected
mance, andto the constraints
further determined ofthe
operating
influence conditions for optimum
of the structural battery
parameters on performance,
the heat dis-
and further determined the influence of the structural parameters
sipation performance through a sensitivity analysis. On this basis, a cooling on the heat dissipation
system with
aperformance through adistribution
uniform temperature sensitivity analysis.
and small On this basis,
energy a cooling was
consumption system with a uniform
developed by the
temperature distribution
multi-objective optimization and small energy
approach. consumption
The effectiveness of was developeddesign
the optimized by theis multi-
veri-
objective
fied by theoptimization
heat dissipation approach. The effectiveness
experiments of the battery of module.
the optimized design is verified by
the heat
Evendissipation
though theexperiments
liquid cooling of system
the battery
is themodule.
most feasible one for the batteries, there
Even though the liquid cooling
is still space for further improvement in terms system is of
thethe
most feasible
cooling one for the energy
performance, batteries, there
saving
is still space for further improvement in terms of the cooling performance,
and temperature control strategy during the discharging process. Therefore, in this work, energy saving
and
the temperature
liquid control
cooling heat strategy during
dissipation system the discharging
of the lithium-ion process. Therefore,
batteries in this
is analyzed andwork,
op-
the liquid
timized cooling
through theheat dissipation
orthogonal designsystem of thewith
approach lithium-ion
a matrix batteries
analysis. is
Theanalyzed and
orthogonal
optimized through the orthogonal design approach with a matrix
weight was obtained for each level and each factor appeared in the system evaluation analysis. The orthogonal
weight Based
indexes. was obtained for each weight
on the identified level and eachafactor
factors, appeared
closed-loop in the system
temperature controlevaluation
strategy
indexes. Based on the identified weight factors, a closed-loop temperature
for the BTMS is proposed and evaluated for a complete battery pack discharging process. control strategy
for the BTMS is proposed and evaluated for a complete battery pack discharging process.
2. Modeling and Numerical Methodology
2. Modeling and Numerical Methodology
2.1.
2.1.Arrangement
Arrangementand andGeometry
Geometryofofthe
theBatteries
BatteriesandandCooling
CoolingPlatesPlatestotoBe
BeModeled
Modeled
The
The thermal management strategy of the battery module consistingofofsix
thermal management strategy of the battery module consisting sixcommercial
commercial
rectangular
rectangular lithium-ion battery cells is studied in this work. It is assumed thatthe
lithium-ion battery cells is studied in this work. It is assumed that thebattery
battery
acts
actsasasaauniform
uniformheat heatsource
sourceininthe
thestudy.
study.TheTheBTMSBTMSfor forthis
thismodule
moduleisischaracterized
characterizedby by
the
theliquid
liquidcooling
coolingapproach
approachwith
withaamini-channel
mini-channelcoolingcoolingplate.plate.As Asshown
shownininFigure
Figure1,1,the
the
six
sixcells
cellsare
arearranged
arrangedinintwo
tworows
rows(each
(eachrowrowwith
withthree
threecellscellsaligned
alignedininparallel),
parallel),separated
separated
by the cooling plate. The cooling plate is adhered to the largest side
by the cooling plate. The cooling plate is adhered to the largest side of the cell, which of the cell, which has
the advantage of forming a large heat exchange area. Temperature
has the advantage of forming a large heat exchange area. Temperature monitoring points monitoring points
(Point-1
(Point-1and andPoint-2
Point-2used
usedininSection
Section3)3)are
arelocated
locatedin inthe
thecenter
centerof ofthe
thebattery
batterysurface,
surface,asas
shown
shownininFigure
Figure1.1.TheThesize
sizeof
ofthe
the single
single cell
cell is
is 207
207 ××157 157××7 7mm, mm,while
whilethethesize
sizeofofthe
the
cooling
coolingplate
plateisis471
471××207
207× ×
(H(H+ 1) mm,
+ 1) mm, where
where HH is isthetheheight
heightofofthe
therectangular
rectangularchannel,
channel,
asasshown
shownininthe thecross-sectional
cross-sectionalview
viewshown
shownin inFigure
Figure1.1.

Figure
Figure1.1.Battery
Batterygeometry
geometrytotobe
bemodeled
modeledand
andenlarged
enlargedview
viewofofmarked
markedcross-section
cross-sectionA.
A.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 4 of 19

The rectangular flow c hannels a re u sed i nside t he l iquid c ooling p lates, s ince the
straight shape channel has the advantage of a low manufacture cost and low flow resistance
compared to the other design channels. This is a suitable choice for the rectangular battery
pack. The channel arrangement is mainly featured by the number and size, as well as the
position of the channels within the cooling plates. For a liquid cooling plate with a similar
size, Rao et al. [26] has found that the arrangement of the six channels can provide a better
control of the temperature for the rectangular battery cells. Therefore, in this work, the
same number of the channels (i.e., six) is adopted for the cooling plate. The cross-sectional
size of the rectangular channels is featured by the parameters of width (L) and height (H),
as shown in Figure 1. For the position of the channels within the plates, it is assumed that
the six channels are evenly distributed horizontally. The distance between the top/bottom
edge of each channel and the top/bottom surface of the cooling plate is fixed to 0.5 mm in
this study. The weight of the battery module will not be significantly increased.

2.2. Mathematical Equations and Modeling Method for BTMS

2.2.1. The Governing Equations
For the fluid flow and heat transfer in BTMS, the conservations of mass, momentum
and energy have to be satisfied. In this work, Reynolds number Re of the liquid flow in
the straight channels is always smaller than 2300, thus the flow is in laminar. Heat transfer
between the fluid and channel wall within the cooling plate is through the convection,
while that within the channel walls and the battery cells is through thermal conduction.
The energy conservation equation for the battery cell is specified as follows [27]:

∂T .
ρb Cb = ∇ · (λb ∇ T ) + q (1)
∂t
. qtotal
q= (2)
Vb
where ρb , Cb , λb and Vb are the density, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and
.
volume of the battery, respectively,∇T is the temperature gradient, q is the heat source per
unit volume of the battery. In order to simplify the calculation, ρc , Cc and λc are kept as the
constants. Similarly, the energy equation of the coolant is described as follows:

∂T →
 
ρc Cc + ∇ · ρc Cc u Tc = ∇ · (λc ∇ T ) (3)
∂t
→
where ρc , Cc , λc and u are the coolant density, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity,
temperature and velocity vector, respectively. Water is used as the cooling medium in
this work.
The governing equations for the fluid flow are outlined as follows. The continuity
equation reads:
∂ρc  →
+ ∇ · ρc u = 0 (4)
∂t
→
where ρc is the density of the coolant, u is the velocity of the coolant (in vector).
The momentum conservation equation for the laminar flow:

∂  →  →→
→
ρc u + ∇ ρc u u = −∇ P + ∇ τ + ρc g (5)
∂t
→
where P is the static pressure, τ is the stress tensor, and g means the acceleration of gravity.
The stress tensor τ is given by:
 
→ →T
τ = µ ∇u + ∇u (6)

where µ is the molecular viscosity.

Energies 2021, 14, 4187 5 of 19

To evaluate the effect of the mass flow rate, the Reynolds number are calculated
as follows:
ud
Re = (7)
υ
where υ is the kinematic viscosity of the coolant, d is the characteristic length given by:

2HL
d= (8)
H+L

2.2.2. Battery Heat Generation Model

In the battery discharging process, the heat is generated by the electrochemical reac-
tions, and the polarization due to the terminal voltage difference of the battery, as well as
transfer of the lithium-ions and electrons. This heat can be classified into the reversible
and irreversible ones, usually estimated by the theoretical model proposed by Bernard [28]
in 1985. In this paper, the actual heat generation rate of the battery cell under different
state of charge (SOC) was taken from the experimental work carried out at the operating
temperature of 25 ◦ C [29], which was presented as a transient total heat source averaged as
a uniform heat generation distributed in the battery cells. The battery is connected to the
electrical loading box, which is further connected to the controller via the RS-232 cables.
The controller can control the discharge process of the battery and collect the voltage and
current data of the battery. The controller communicates with the computer 1 via the
LabVIEW platform. Ten T-type thermocouples are attached to the battery surface. The
data of the thermocouples is kept in the computer 2 through Keithley data acquisition
system. In the experiments, the total heat generation rate of the battery is estimated by
the conservation of heat flux. It should be mentioned that the experiments employed a
well-known Moffat method [30] to analyze the uncertainty of the experimental results and
theoretical predictions. In the experiments, the total heat generation rate of the battery was
calculated by the conservation of heat flow as follows:

qtotal = qsen + qc + qenv (9)

where qtotal is the total heat generation rate of the battery; qsen is the sensible heat of the
battery; qc represents the heat exchange between the battery and the coolant; qenv represents
the heat exchanged between the system and the environment.
This total heat generation rate is corelated by a polynomial fitting method, which
is further compiled through the user defined f unction ( UDF) i n t his w ork a s t he heat
source term of the battery in ANSYS Fluent. The simulations are carried out on a desk-top
computer with 6 Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-2133 CPU cores (@3.60 GHz) and a 16-GB memory
in a 64-bit Windows operating system. The double precision pressure-based solver is
adopted with the standard SIMPLE algorithm as its pressure–velocity coupling method.
The second order upwind discretization scheme is used for the momentum equation. All
user defined functions (UDFs) are compiled in the Dev-C++ software (Version 2 Copyright
(C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA).
In each simulation, 5 CPU cores are used in parallel and around 87% of the memory is
consumed. Each simulation case takes about 4 h running time. In the experiment, the
external surface of the battery module is wrapped by employing insulating cotton material.
To keep the similar thermal conditions, an insulating boundary condition is implemented
in the simulation work, and the heat generated by the battery is mainly carried away by
the coolant.

2.2.3. Physical and Thermal Properties

In this work, the cooling plate is made of aluminum and the coolant is water. The
physical and thermal parameters employed for the lithium-ion battery, cooling plate and
water are shown in Table 1. Due to the small thickness of the battery, isotropic thermal
conductivity is assumed for the battery for numerical simplicity. It is found that the error
 2.2.3. Physical and Thermal Properties
In this work, the cooling plate is made of aluminum and the coolant is water. The
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 6 of 19
physical and thermal parameters employed for the lithium-ion battery, cooling plate and
water are shown in Table 1. Due to the small thickness of the battery, isotropic thermal
conductivity is assumed for the battery for numerical simplicity. It is found that the error
induced by this
induced assumption
by this assumption is acceptable in this
is acceptable specific
in this case.
specific In the
case. current
In the simulations,
current simulations,
the the
change of the
change properties
of the with
properties temperature
with is not
temperature considered
is not because
considered thethe
because temperature
temperature
variation in the
variation BTMS
in the is considered
BTMS is consideredsmall.
small.

Table
Table 1. Physical
1. Physical parameters
parameters of the
of the battery
battery module
module adapted
adapted from
from [31].
[31].

Material ρ (kg/m 3) 3 C (J/kg·K) λ (W/m·K) µ (kg/m·s)

Material ρ (kg/m ) C (J/kg·K) λ (W/m·K) µ (kg/m·s)
Battery
Battery 20922092 678 678 18.218.2 - -
Water
Water 998.2998.2 41284128 0.6 0.6 0.001001
0.001001
Aluminum
Aluminum 27192719 871 871 202.4
202.4 - -

2.2.4.
2.2.4. Initial
Initial andand Boundary
Boundary Conditions
Conditions
In order
In order to solve
to solve thethe governing
governing equation
equation above,
above, as shown
as shown in Figure
in Figure 2, the
2, the initial
initial andand
boundary
boundary conditions
conditions are are applied
applied as follows:
as follows: thethe initial
initial temperature
temperature of all
of all computational
computational
zones
zones waswas set set
to 25 25 ◦The
to °C. C. The inlet
inlet boundary
boundary condition
condition for for
thethe cooling
cooling plate
plate waswasthethemassmass
flow
flow raterate
with with a constant
a constant temperature,
temperature, while
while thethe outlet
outlet oneone
waswas thethe pressure
pressure outlet.
outlet. In the
In the
orthogonal
orthogonal testtest below,
below, thethe specific
specific inlet
inlet mass
mass flowflow
raterate
willwill be given.
be given. TheThe inner
inner wall wall of the
of the
cooling plate was fixed by a non-slip boundary condition. The battery
cooling plate was fixed by a non-slip boundary condition. The battery module is modelled module is modelled
to thermally
to be be thermally insulated
insulated from from
thethe external
external environment,
environment, i.e.,i.e.,
thethe heat
heat generated
generated by by
thethe
battery is carried away only by water, while the heat source term is implemented for thethe
battery is carried away only by water, while the heat source term is implemented for
battery
battery cellscells in the
in the UDF. UDF.

Figure 2. Boundary
Figure conditions
2. Boundary andand
conditions initial conditions.
initial conditions.

2.2.5.
2.2.5. Implementation
Implementation MethodMethod andand Validation
Validation of the
of the Model
Model
TheThe commercial
commercial software
software ANSYS
ANSYS Fluent
Fluent waswasusedused
for for
the the simulation
simulation in this
in this work.
work.
The parameter settings applied in the simulation (such as model selection
The parameter settings applied in the simulation (such as model selection and meshing) and meshing)
are are consistent
consistent with with those
those presented
presented elsewhere
elsewhere in the
in the previous
previous workwork [32].
[32]. In this
In this paper,
paper, thethe
liquid
liquid cooling
cooling method
method of theof the battery
battery module
module is studied
is studied based
based on on
thethe findings
findings fromfrom
thethe
previous study [32], in terms of the heat generation rate evaluated for the single battery. As
previous study [32], in terms of the heat generation rate evaluated for the single battery.
As the
the battery
battery module
module is is symmetric
symmetric along
along the
thecentral
centralplane
planeofofthe
thecooling
coolingplate,
plate,only
onlya ahalf
half structure of the module is adopted as the calculation domain for the purpose to re-the
structure of the module is adopted as the calculation domain for the purpose to reduce
ducecomputation expenses.
the computation expenses.
To validate the thermal model prediction against the experimental data, a thermal
contact resistance between the battery and the cooling plate surfaces is considered. In this
work, the contact thermal resistance (R) is estimated as the heat exchange (qc ) between the
battery and the cooling plate obtained from the experiment and divided by the temperature
difference (∆T) between them. The thickness (δ) between the surfaces is assumed as 0.1
mm and the thermal conductivity (λ) 0.012 (W/m·K). By this treatment, it is found that
 To validate the thermal model prediction against the experimental data, a thermal
contact resistance between the battery and the cooling plate surfaces is considered. In this
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 work, the contact thermal resistance (R) is estimated as the heat exchange (qc) between the
7 of 19
battery and the cooling plate obtained from the experiment and divided by the tempera-
ture difference (ΔT) between them. The thickness (δ) between the surfaces is assumed as
0.1 mm and the thermal conductivity (λ) 0.012 (W/m·K). By this treatment, it is found that
the estimated
the estimated thermal
thermal resistance
resistance is is equal
equal to
to the
the experimental
experimental one.
one. As
As can
can be
be seen
seen later,
later, the
the
above calculated properties of the materials can yield reasonable temperature
above calculated properties of the materials can yield reasonable temperature predictions. predictions.
In this
In this study,
study,thethegeometric
geometric model
model of the battery
of the module
battery was was
module established in SolidWorks
established in Solid-
and further imported into ANSYS MESHING for a mesh division.
Works and further imported into ANSYS MESHING for a mesh division. Hexahedral Hexahedral grids
generated for the domains are highlighted in Figure 3a. It should be mentioned
grids generated for the domains are highlighted in Figure 3a. It should be mentioned that that the
partpart
the colored withwith
colored blueblue
is for
is the fluid
for the domain,
fluid domain,while the the
while onesones
withwith
other colors
other are are
colors for the
for
cooling plate and the batteries.
the cooling plate and the batteries.

(a) (b)
Figure 3. Meshing
Meshing for battery module: (a)
(a) generated
generated meshes
meshes for the modelled domains; (b) grid independence testing
performance.
performance.

In
In order
order to to evaluate
evaluate the the reliability
reliability of the the model,
model, aa grid
grid independence
independence testing is carried
out.
out. The temperature
temperatureatatpoint-1, point-1, TPoint-1isispredicted
TPoint-1 predicted forfor various
various gridgrid numbers.
numbers. It canIt be
canseen
be
seen in Figure
in Figure 3b that, 3bwhen
that, when the number
the number of the grids of theexceeds
grids exceeds 1.5 million,
1.5 million, the variation
the variation range of
TPoint-1ofis Tless
range than
Point-1 1%, than
is less which1%, canwhich
be considered that the simulation
can be considered that theresults are independent
simulation results are
of the number
independent of ofthethe employed
number of thegrids.
employed Considering the calculation
grids. Considering accuracy and
the calculation time
accuracy
expenses,
and the grid number
time expenses, the grid ranging
number from ranging 1.5 from
to 5 million
1.5 to 5ismillion
employed for various
is employed for cases
various in
the present
cases in thesimulations of the orthogonal
present simulations tests. At the
of the orthogonal same
tests. Attime, skewness
the same time,and orthogonal
skewness and
quality are also
orthogonal qualitycarried
are out
alsotocarried
evaluate outthe to quality
evaluate ofthe
the quality
meshing. of The maximumThe
the meshing. skewness
maxi-
of theskewness
mum cases is less than
of the 0.94isand
cases lessthe
thanminimum
0.94 and the value of orthogonal
minimum value of quality is more
orthogonal than
quality
0.15, which are acceptable in ANSYS Fluent. The convergence
is more than 0.15, which are acceptable in ANSYS Fluent. The convergence criteria for criteria for both the energy
and continuity
both the energyequationsand continuity to 10−6 , which
are setequations are setis to
also
10applied
−6, which toisthe momentum
also applied toequation.
the mo-
The time step for the transient calculation is 1 s. To validate
mentum equation. The time step for the transient calculation is 1 s. To validate the thermal model the
predictions,
thermal
the surface
model temperature
predictions, predicted
the surface for the lithium-ion
temperature predicted for batteries at 1 C, 2 batteries
the lithium-ion C, 3 C and at 14 C,
C
discharging rates were compared with the experimental
2 C, 3 C and 4 C discharging rates were compared with the experimental data. As shown data. As shown in Figure 4, the
maximum
in Figure 4, difference
the maximum between the experimental
difference and the simulation
between the experimental and theresults is less
simulation than
results
2%, indicating that the developed model can well predict the
is less than 2%, indicating that the developed model can well predict the temperature dis- temperature distribution of
the battery.
tribution of the battery.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 8 of 19
Energies 2021, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 19

Figure 4. Validation
Figure 4. of predicted
Validation of predicted temperature
temperature with
with the
the measured
measured one
one at
at various
various discharging
dischargingrate.
rate.

2.3. Orthogonal
2.3. Orthogonal Design
Design Method
Method for
for BTMS
BTMS andand Its
Its Matrix
Matrix Analysis
Analysis
In the
In the design
design of
ofBTMS,
BTMS,aalarge
largenumber
numberofofthe thecalculations
calculations andandexperiments
experiments areare
usually
usu-
required
ally to study
required the the
to study influence of the
influence specific
of the specificfactors
factorsononthethecertain
certainindexes.
indexes. InIn order
order
to reduce
to reduce thethe number
numberofofthetherequired
requiredmeasurements
measurements andand calculations,
calculations, thethe method
method of
of or-
orthogonal design is adopted. The purpose of the orthogonal design is
thogonal design is adopted. The purpose of the orthogonal design is to optimize the test- to optimize the
testing
ing conditions
conditions andand find
find outout
thethe besttesting
best testingscheme.
scheme.The Thecore
coreof of the
the orthogonal
orthogonal design
design
method is an orthogonal array composed of various factors at different levels.
method is an orthogonal array composed of various factors at different levels.
For the
For the heat
heat dissipation
dissipation ability
ability of
of the
the mini-channel
mini-channel cooling
cooling plates,
plates, it it can
can be
be clearly
clearly
observed that
observed that the
the channel
channel height
height (H),
(H), channel
channel width
width (L),
(L), inlet
inlet water
water mass
mass flow
flow rate
rate (V)
(V) and
and
inlet water
inlet water temperature
temperature (T)(T) are
are the
the main
main factors
factors influencing
influencing thethe temperature
temperature distribution
distribution
of the battery modules. The channel height influences the size and weight of the BTMS
of the battery modules. The channel height influences the size and weight of the BTMS
and further the energy density of the battery pack. To consider this effect, four levels of
and further the energy density of the battery pack. To consider this effect, four levels of
the channel height values are selected between 0.5–2 mm for a further analysis. The other
the channel height values are selected between 0.5–2 mm for a further analysis. The other
factors (e.g., L, V and T) are also selected from the perspective of the energy consumption
factors (e.g., L, V and T) are also selected from the perspective of the energy consumption
and the heat dissipation capacity. The selected factors of the orthogonal design are shown
and the heat dissipation capacity. The selected factors of the orthogonal design are shown
in Table 2. The evaluation indexes of the BTMS in this work include: the maximum
in Table 2. The evaluation indexes of the BTMS in this work include: the maximum tem-
temperature (Tmax ), temperature difference (∆T) and pressure drop (∆P) through the
perature (Tmax), temperature difference (ΔT) and pressure drop (ΔP) through the channels,
channels, as defined below.
as defined below.
Tmax = TPoint-2 (10)
∆T = T = TPoint-2 (10)
Tmax
Point-2 − T Point-1 (11)
ΔT = TPoint-2 − TPoint-1 (11)
Table 2. Orthogonal design factors and levels.

Table 2. Orthogonal design factors and levels. Factors

Level
H (mm) L (mm) V (kg/s) T (◦ C)
Factors
Level
1 0.5 10
H (mm) L (mm) V0.0005
(kg/s) T 20
(°C)
2 1.0 15 0.001 25
13 0.5
1.5 10
20 0.0005
0.005 20
30
24 1.0
2.0 15
25 0.001
0.01 25
35
3 1.5 20 0.005 30
4 2.0 25 0.01
As identified in Table 2, each factor has four levels. In order to reduce the 35number
of the simulations, a combination of the concerned factors is obtained through L16 (44 )
As identified
orthogonal. in Table 2, design
The orthogonal each factor
tablehas
andfour
thelevels. In order toevaluation
corresponding reduce theindexes
numberare of
the simulations, a combination of the concerned factors is obtained through
presented in Table 3. It should be mentioned that columns 2–5 of this table represent L 16 (44) orthog-

onal. The orthogonal

the factors design
and levels, whiletable and the
columns 6–8corresponding evaluation
are the evaluation indexes
indexes, aremaximum
i.e., the presented
in Table 3. It should be mentioned that columns
temperature, temperature difference and pressure drop.2–5 of this table represent the factors and
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 9 of 19

Table 3. Orthogonal design and results.

Factor Evaluation Index

Number
H L T V Tmax (◦ C) ∆T (◦ C) ∆P (Pa)
1 1 1 1 1 67.29 29.25 1770.11
2 1 2 2 2 54.36 19.21 3525.29
3 1 3 3 3 39.52 5.95 6776.63
4 1 4 4 4 40.78 3.36 12,198.85
5 2 1 2 3 36.00 5.18 1789.54
6 2 2 1 4 26.93 2.96 2129.14
7 2 3 4 1 81.08 28.39 166.21
8 2 4 3 2 58.76 18.62 265.14
9 3 1 3 4 38.64 2.80 924.58
10 3 2 4 3 45.83 5.16 391.45
11 3 3 1 2 48.55 17.94 99.27
12 3 4 2 1 69.77 27.31 39.52
13 4 1 4 2 64.21 16.81 84.95
14 4 2 3 1 73.97 25.57 29.93
15 4 3 2 4 31.99 3.13 348.67
16 4 4 1 3 29.98 5.49 149.66

It is also important to reasonably deal with the orthogonal testing results for obtaining
the correct analysis and summary according to the processing results. There are two
options observed in the existing analysis. The first option is a simple analytical process
but complicated result. The other one is that the calculation process is complex and prone
to limited errors. Therefore, the matrix analysis method [33] of the orthogonal design is
adopted due to a fact that it is able to get quickly the primary and secondary order of the
influencing factors through the design and calculations. The weight matrix of the design
method can be obtained, which clearly reflects the significance of each individual factors
from the evaluated indexes of the designs.
The weight matrix analysis method is used to optimize the selection of the multi-
objective orthogonal design schemes. According to the orthogonal design scheme, a three-
layer structure model needs to be established, which are the inspection index layer, the
factor layer and the level layer, respectively. From the data of each layer, the corresponding
matrix formula is further established. First of all, it is assumed that, for the inspection
index layer, there are m factors in the orthogonal experiment, while each factor has n levels.
The average value of the testing index at the j level of the i factor is specified as kij . If the
value of the index is proportional to the expectation, i.e., the larger the index is, the more
satisfied the expectation is. Let Kij = kij , otherwise Kij = 1/kij . The matrix is constructed as
presented in Equation (12). Secondly, for the factor layer, the reciprocal of the sum of Ki1 to
Ki n is counted as Ni . There is Ni = 1/ ∑nj=1 Kij . The matrix of Equation (13) is established.
Then, for the establishment of the horizontal layer matrix, the range of the i factor is si , and
Si = si / ∑im=1 si . Equation (14) is constructed. Finally, the weight matrix of Equation (15)
that affects the value of the testing index can be calculated.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 10 of 19

 
K11 0 0 0
 . .. .. ..
 ..

 . . . 

 K 0 0 0 
 1n 
 0
 K21 0 0 

 . .. .. .. 
 .
 . . . .

M= (12)

 0 K2n 0 0


 . .. .. .. 
 .
 . . . .


 
 0 0 0 Km1 
 .. .. .. ..
 

 . . . . 
0 0 0 Kmn
 
N1 0 0 0
 0 N2 0 0 
N= . (13)
 
.. .. .. 
 .. . . . 
0 0 0 Ni
 
S1
 S2 
S= . (14)
 
 ..


Si

w = MNS = [w1 , w2 , · · ·, wm×n ] T (15)

In the above matrix, w1 = K11 N1 S1 , where K11 N1 = K11 / ∑nj=1 K1j is the ratio of the
indexed value for the first level to the sum for all the levels of the first factor; S1 = s1 / ∑im=1 si
is the ratio of the range for the first factor to the sum of the all factors. The value of the
product of these two can not only reflect the volatility of the level of the first factor, but
also reflect the influence of each level of the first factor on the evaluation indexes under
the investigation. The same is true for the other factors and levels, and the weight of the
influence of the levels on the indexed value can be obtained by the calculation.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. The Influence of Channel Size
Based on the orthogonal design method presented in the above Section 2.3, the in-
fluence of the channel size on the flow and heat transfer in the channel is presented and
discussed in this section. Figure 5 shows the weight of the channel height H and width L
at four different levels on the maximum temperature and temperature difference. In the
above Figure, the vertical axis and the horizontal axis represent the weights and four levels
varied with different factors. The black and red polylines represent the influence of the
channel height and channel width, respectively. It can be observed in Figure 5a that as the
channel width increases, the heat dissipation capacity of the cold plate is increased due to
the increase of the effective heat exchange area between water and the battery. This finding
is consistent with that of Jin [34]. As the height of the channel increases, the heat transfer
between water and batteries is slightly weakened at smaller H and then strengthened as H
increases. This predicted result may be due to the fact that, on the one hand, increasing the
height can increase the wet perimeter and reduce the water velocity when the inlet flow
rate is fixed. This slightly weakens the convective heat transfer performance through the
channels. On the other hand, with the increasing of the channel height, the heat transfer
area between the coolant and the cooling plate gradually increases and the enhanced heat
transfer effect will exceed the effect of the decreasing flow velocity. In overall, it can be
seen from Figure 5a that factor L has a greater influence on the maximum temperature of
the battery module than factor H.

Energies 2021, 14, 4187
the channels. On the other hand, with the increasing of the channel height, the heat trans-
fer area between the coolant and the cooling plate gradually increases and the enhanced
heat transfer effect will exceed the effect of the decreasing flow velocity. In overall,11itofcan
19
be seen from Figure 5a that factor L has a greater influence on the maximum temperature
of the battery module than factor H.

(a) (b)
Figure 5.
Figure 5. Influence
Influence of
of channel
channel height
height H
H and
and width
width LL on
on (a)
(a) maximum
maximum temperature
temperatureand
and(b)
(b)temperature
temperaturedifference.
difference.

Figure 5b
Figure 5bshows
showsthe theinfluence
influenceofofthe thechannel
channel height
height H and
H and width
width L onL on
the the tempera-
temperature
ture difference.
difference. Under Under
a fixeda fixed inletrate,
inlet flow flowincreasing
rate, increasing
channelchannel
height Hheight H is beneficial
is beneficial to reduce to
the temperature
reduce difference
the temperature of the battery
difference of the module. It is alsoItseen
battery module. that
is also thethat
seen orthogonal weight
the orthogonal
weight
of L on of theL temperature
on the temperature difference
difference are smaller
are smaller than those
than those of factor
of factor H from H from the ver-
the vertical
tical coefficient in Figure 5b. It can be seen in Figure 6 that a larger
coefficient in Figure 5b. It can be seen in Figure 6 that a larger H results in a smaller H results in a smaller
pressure drop
pressure drop in the the channel,
channel, while
whilethethetrend
trendforforLLisisopposite.
opposite.The The pressure
pressure dropdrop is
is an
an indicator
indicator of ofthethe parasitic
parasitic powerconsumption
power consumptionneeded neededby bycooling
cooling the
the battery module.
battery module.
Therefore,
Therefore, compared
comparedto to the
the channel height H,
channel height H, the
the channel
channel width has aa stronger
width LL has stronger influence
influence
on
on the
themaximum
maximumtemperature
temperatureofofthe thebattery
batterymodule,
module, which
which means
means that thethe
that heat exchanging
heat exchang-
area (i.e.,(i.e.,
ing area connecting to the
connecting tobattery cells)cells)
the battery is theismain influencing
the main factorfactor
influencing on the ontemperature
the temper-
field
atureoffield
the of
battery module.
the battery However,
module. the orthogonal
However, weightweight
the orthogonal of the channel height on
of the channel the
height
temperature
on the temperature difference is threeistimes
difference threebigger
times than
biggerthat of the
than thatchannel width. This
of the channel width. means
This
that
means increasing channelchannel
that increasing height or reducing
height flow velocity
or reducing has a significant
flow velocity impact impact
has a significant on the
temperature difference
on the temperature of the battery
difference of themodule.
battery Through
module. the weightthe
Through analysis,
weightthe impactthe
analysis, of
H and Lof
impact onHthe
and battery
L on themodule
battery can be quantified.
module can be quantified.

Figure 6.
Figure 6. Influence
Influence of
of each
each factor
factor on
on pressure
pressure drop.
drop.

3.2. The Influence of Inlet Temperature and Flow Rate

The inlet temperature and inlet flow velocity are very important for the heat dissipa-
tion of the battery module. A common approach to investigate the effect of the inlet water
temperature and velocity on the performance of BTMS is by trying a series of specified
inlet water temperature and velocity, and then checking whether these values can meet
 3.2. The Influence of Inlet Temperature and Flow Rate
The inlet temperature and inlet flow velocity are very important for the heat dissipa-
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 tion of the battery module. A common approach to investigate the effect of the inlet12 water
of 19
temperature and velocity on the performance of BTMS is by trying a series of specified
inlet water temperature and velocity, and then checking whether these values can meet
the requirements of the BTMS. Such an approach is straightforward to find the optimum
the requirements of the BTMS. Such an approach is straightforward to find the optimum
values but is very time consuming, which may lead to a significant computational ex-
values but is very time consuming, which may lead to a significant computational expense.
pense. Through the matrix analysis method employing the orthogonal design results, the
Through the matrix analysis method employing the orthogonal design results, the influ-
influence of the levels on the evaluation index (i.e., orthogonal weight) can be easily iden-
ence of the levels on the evaluation index (i.e., orthogonal weight) can be easily identified.
tified. Based on the orthogonal weight analyzed, the factors and levels with bigger
Based on the orthogonal weight analyzed, the factors and levels with bigger weights can
weights
be can beas
considered considered as being
being in higher in higher
priority priority in optimization
in optimization of the BTMS of the BTMSThis
designs. designs.
can
This canthe
reduce reduce the time
analysis analysis
and time and computation
computation resourcesresources
required. required.
Figure 77 shows
Figure shows thethe impact
impact of of the
the orthogonal
orthogonal weights
weights of of the
the inlet
inlet temperature
temperature and and
inlet flow velocity on the battery maximum temperature and temperature
inlet flow velocity on the battery maximum temperature and temperature difference. It difference. It
can be found from Figure 7a that the weight of the inlet temperature
can be found from Figure 7a that the weight of the inlet temperature on the maximum on the maximum
temperature decreases
temperature decreases almost
almost proportionally
proportionally withwith the
the inlet
inlet temperature
temperature increasing.
increasing. This
This
suggests that
suggests that aa lower
lower inlet
inlet temperature
temperature is is favored
favored to
to the
the heat
heat dissipation
dissipation in in the
the battery
battery
module. However, it is found in Figure 7b that the weight of the inlet
module. However, it is found in Figure 7b that the weight of the inlet temperature on temperature on the
the
temperature difference within the module fluctuates. An increased
temperature difference within the module fluctuates. An increased heat exchange rate isheat exchange rate is
more beneficial to the battery heat dissipation. Although a lower inlet
more beneficial to the battery heat dissipation. Although a lower inlet temperature can temperature can
increase the
increase the heat
heatdissipation,
dissipation,the theparasitic energy
parasitic consumption
energy consumption needed
needed by the cooling
by the wa-
cooling
ter in the
water refrigeration
in the refrigeration system
systemwould
wouldbe be
higher, which
higher, whichneeds
needs further
furtherto to
bebebalanced.
balanced.

(a) (b)
Figure 7.
Figure 7. Influence
Influence of
of inlet
inlet temperature
temperature TT and
and inlet
inlet mass
mass flow
flow rate
rate VV on
on (a)
(a) maximum
maximum temperature
temperature and
and (b)
(b) temperature
temperature
difference.
difference.

Figure
Figure 77 also
also shows
shows that
that increasing
increasing inlet
inlet flow
flow rate
rate is
is beneficial
beneficial to
to aa reduction
reduction of of both
both
the maximum temperature and temperature difference, but the relationship
the maximum temperature and temperature difference, but the relationship is not linear. is not linear. It
can be seen from Equation (16) that for a given channel structure the heat transfer
It can be seen from Equation (16) that for a given channel structure the heat transfer factor factor is
mainly
is mainlya function
a functionof of
thethe
heat
heattransfer coefficient
transfer coefficientand
andflow
flow velocity, while
velocity, whilethetheheat
heattransfer
trans-
capacity of the cooling plate is affected by both. The heat transfer factor (j)
fer capacity of the cooling plate is affected by both. The heat transfer factor (j) specifiedspecified below
is usedistoused
below characterize the heatthe
to characterize transfer capacity
heat transfer of the heat
capacity of theexchange equipment.
heat exchange equipment.
2 2 hh 22

j =· Pr
j = St St ⋅3Pr=3 = ·⋅ Pr
Pr33 (16)
(16)
ρρcC
cCcucu

where St is the Stanton number, defined as the ratio of the actual heat transfer flux to the
maximum heat transfer fluxflux of
of the
the fluid,
fluid, Pr
Pr is Prandtl number.
number.
It is observed from the orthogonal
orthogonal weight shown in Figure 7 that
that for
for the
the straight
straight
channel the inlet
inlet water
watervelocity
velocityhas
hasaagreater
greaterinfluence
influenceononthe
the temperature distributed
temperature distributed in
in the battery module, followed by the inlet water temperature. The predicted results in
Figure 6 shows that the inlet water temperature and velocity have the same trend of the
influence on the pressure drop of the channel. As can be also seen in Figure 6, the influence
weight of the pressure drop in the channel changes little at different inlet temperatures.
Different inlet flow rates have a great influence on the pressure drop. Reducing the inlet
 the battery module, followed by the inlet water temperature. The predicted results in Fig-
ure 6 shows that the inlet water temperature and velocity have the same trend of the in-
fluence on the pressure drop of the channel. As can be also seen in Figure 6, the influence
weight of the pressure drop in the channel changes little at different inlet temperatures.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 Different inlet flow rates have a great influence on the pressure drop. Reducing13the inlet
of 19
flow rate may reduce the parasitic energy consumption of BTMS but will weaken the
BTMS heat transfer capability. There must be a trade-off between these two parameters.
According to the influence weight of the level for the factor, a more targeted choice may
flow rate may reduce the parasitic energy consumption of BTMS but will weaken the BTMS
be adopted in the research on the thermal management strategy of the battery pack tem-
heat transfer capability. There must be a trade-off between these two parameters. According
perature field.
to the influence weight of the level for the factor, a more targeted choice may be adopted in
It can be seen from the above analysis that the inlet mass flow rate has the greatest
the research on the thermal management strategy of the battery pack temperature field.
influence on the temperature field of the battery module. The weight range of the influ-
It can be seen from the above analysis that the inlet mass flow rate has the greatest
ence on the maximum temperature is 0.1–0.24. The weight of level 4 to the temperature
influence on the temperature field of the battery module. The weight range of the influence
difference reaches 0.48. It can be found in Figure 8 that when the inlet flow rate is 0.01
on the maximum temperature is 0.1–0.24. The weight of level 4 to the temperature difference
kg/s, that is, when level 4 is used, the maximum temperature is 34.6 °C, while the temper-
reaches 0.48. It can be found in Figure 8 that when the inlet flow rate is 0.01 kg/s, that
ature difference is 3.06 °C. In addition, when the inlet temperature is reduced from 35 °C
is, when level 4 is used, the maximum temperature is 34.6 ◦ C, while the temperature
to 20 °C,
difference is the
3.06maximum temperature
◦ C. In addition, of the
when the module
inlet decreases
temperature from 58from
is reduced °C to3543.1
◦ C °C,
to as
20 C, the maximum temperature of the module decreases from 58 C to 43.1 C, as showncon-
◦shown in Figure 8a. Therefore, according to the above analysis, different
◦ temperature
◦
trol strategies
in Figure for the according
8a. Therefore, battery module
to thewill be developed
above by adjusting
analysis, different these twocontrol
temperature factors (T,
V).
strategies for the battery module will be developed by adjusting these two factors (T, V).

(a) (b)
Figure
Figure 8. The
8. The comparison
comparison of factors
of factors in different
in different levels
levels onmaximum
on (a) (a) maximum temperature
temperature and and (b) temperature
(b) temperature difference.
difference.

3.3.3.3. Evaluation
Evaluation of Various
of Various Temperature
Temperature Control
Control Strategies
Strategies
FromFrom
the the
aboveabove discussion,
discussion, it can
it can be found
be found thatthat different
different factors
factors andand their
their levels
levels havehave
different orthogonal weight values on the evaluation indexes of the
different orthogonal weight values on the evaluation indexes of the BTMS. The inlet water BTMS. The inlet water
velocity
velocity has has
a biga big impact
impact on the
on the indexes,
indexes, followed
followed by the
by the inletinlet temperature.
temperature. OneOne important
important
objective
objective of the
of the BTMS BTMSis toisreduce
to reducethe the temperature
temperature difference
difference andand maintain
maintain the the reasonable
reasonable
temperature
temperature rangerange for the
for the battery
battery pack.pack.
BasedBased on the
on the findings
findings outlined
outlined above
above andand
the the
heatheat
generation
generation characteristics
characteristics of theof battery,
the battery, this section
this section further further
exploresexplores different
different tempera-
temperature
ture strategies
control control strategies and evaluate
and evaluate the effectiveness
the effectiveness of these
of these ones ones
basedbased on safety
on the the safety
andand
energy
energy consumption.
consumption.
Based on the analysis presented in Section 3.1, the inlet temperature and inlet flow
rate are varied for a purpose to identify the temperature control strategy, while the channel
size is fixed as the channel height H = 2 mm and width L = 10 mm. Figure 9 shows the
logistics of two different temperature control strategies.
Energies 2021, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 19

Energies 2021, 14, 4187
Based on the analysis presented in Section 3.1, the inlet temperature and inlet flow
rate are varied for a purpose to identify the temperature control strategy, while the14
chan-
of 19
nel size is fixed as the channel height H = 2 mm and width L = 10 mm. Figure 9 shows the
logistics of two different temperature control strategies.

(a) (b)
Figure
Figure 9.
9. Temperature control strategy
Temperature control strategy for
for (a)
(a) Scheme
Scheme 55 and
and (b)
(b) Schemes
Schemes 6–8.
6–8.

The logistics of the strategy outlined in Figure 9a is to control control the battery
battery temperature
by adjusting
adjustingthe theinlet
inletflow
flowrateratebased
based ononthethe
maximum
maximum temperature
temperature andandtemperature
temperature dif-
difference
ference monitored
monitored in the
in the battery
battery module.
module. The The temperature
temperature predicted
predicted forbattery
for the the battery
sur-
surface
face centercenter is used
is used as regulating
as the the regulating parameter
parameter of theofthermal
the thermal management
management strategy.
strategy. This
This temperature
temperature is usually
is usually lower lower
thanthan
thatthat at the
at the anode
anode and and cathoderegions
cathode regionsfor foraabattery,
battery,
which means that there would be a delay on the response time of BTMS, especially for the
high-rate discharging
high-rate discharging process.
process. ThisThis strategy
strategy can ensure that the battery always operates
in a reasonable temperature range. In the actual working process, the temperature data
monitored by the thermocouples
monitored thermocouples should should be transmitted
transmitted to the BMS, and then the BMS
gives control instructions to the cooling
gives control instructions to the cooling system. It system. It is
is noteworthy
noteworthy that that in
in this
this process
process thethe
delay of the information transfer may influence the variation
delay of the information transfer may influence the variation of the inlet velocity.of the inlet velocity. Therefore,
There-
setting
fore, the proper
setting response
the proper on the
response ontemperature
the temperature change is critical
change for this
is critical for strategy. In this
this strategy. In
logistics, the required maximum temperature and andtemperature difference are 38 ◦
this logistics, the required maximum temperature temperature difference areC38and°C
4 ◦ C,4 respectively.
and °C, respectively.
The logistics
The logisticsofofthe thesecond
secondstrategy
strategy shown
shown in Figure
in Figure 9b is 9btoiscontrol
to control the battery
the battery tem-
temperature by simultaneously adjusting the inlet water temperature
perature by simultaneously adjusting the inlet water temperature and velocity based and velocity based
on
on the
the battery
battery heatheat generation
generation characteristics.
characteristics. For every
For every increaseincrease
of the of thegeneration
heat heat generation
power
power
by 5 W, bythe
5 W,inlet
the inlet velocity
velocity andand temperature
temperature willwill
bebeincreased/decreased
increased/decreasedwith withaa certain
certain
amount. Table 4 summarizes the parameters of the two strategies
amount. Table 4 summarizes the parameters of the two strategies and the predicted and the predicted results.
re-
It should
sults. be mentioned
It should be mentioned that columns 2–3 of
that columns 2–3Table 4 represent
of Table the inlet
4 represent flowflow
the inlet rate rate
andandthe
inletinlet
the temperature,
temperature, whilewhile
columns 3–4 provide
columns information
3–4 provide on whether
information the specific
on whether scheme
the specific
meets the safety standards of the battery module. Scheme 1 simulates the temperature field
in the inner cycle of BTMS. In Schemes 2–4, the temperature field under the constant inlet
flow rate and inlet temperature is calculated, while Scheme 5 adopts Strategy (a), Scheme 6
to 8 adopt Strategy (b). The complete discharging process of the battery module under the
ambient temperature of 25 ◦ C is simulated.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 15 of 19

Table 4. Control strategy and predicted results.

Scheme Vinlet (kg/s) Tinlet (◦ C) Tmax < 40 (◦ C) ∆T < 5 (◦ C) η Strategy

1 0.01 Tinlet = Toutlet ×
√ ×
√ — —
2 0.01 25 √ 100% Constant
3 0.005 25 × 25% Constant
4 0.001 25 ×
√ ×
√ 1% Constant
5 0.001–0.01 25 √ √ 20% Strategy (a)
6 0.001–0.01 25 24% Strategy (b)
7 0.001–0.005 25 ×
√ × 7% Strategy (b)
8 0.001–0.005 25–20 × 1 Strategy (b)

To evaluate the energy consumption required by each scheme, a new parameter termed
as the energy ratio (η) is defined in Equation (17). h is the ratio of energy consumption of a
certain Scheme to that of Scheme 2. W is the energy consumption of the battery cooling
system, as shown in Equation (18). It is composed of two parts, where the first part is the
energy consumption by the external cooling system, while the other part is the energy
consumption by the electric water pump. EER is the external cooling energy efficiency ratio.
The ambient temperature is 25 ◦ C. Meanwhile, different inlet flow rates and temperatures
are combined as a smoothing jump function, as shown in Equation (19), where pi (i = 1–4)
is a constant.
W
η = other (17)
W2
cc ( Tenv − T )
 
W =V· + ∆P/ρc · t (18)
EER
p2
f( t ) = p1 + (19)
1 + e t− p3 )/p4
(

Table 4 shows that only Schemes 2, 5 and 6 meet the thermal safety requirements. At
the same time, Schemes 5 and 6 can save around 80% and 76% of the energy consumption,
respectively. In addition, it is found in Figure 10b that the Strategy (b) in Figure 9 plays
a prominent role in maintaining the uniform temperature distribution in the cell module.
However, the Strategy (b) has the risk that the heat generation rate of the batteries is likely
to increase as the performance of the battery decades. This may increase the difficulty
for the temperature control in Strategy (b). It can be seen from Figure 10 that both the
maximum temperature and temperature difference of Scheme 5 meet the requirements of
BTMS design through adopting Strategy (a). The temperature distribution of the battery
module at different depths of discharge is shown in Figure 10c. Based on the above
discussion, controlling the inlet flow rate of the cooling liquid is an effective and economic
strategy to maintain a reasonable temperature distribution in the battery module.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 16 of 19
Energies 2021, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 19

(a) (b)

(c)
Figure
Figure 10.
10. Influence
Influenceofofdifferent
differenttemperature control
temperature strategy
control scheme
strategy on on
scheme (a) (a)
maximum temperature;
maximum (b) temperature
temperature; dif-
(b) temperature
ference; (c) temperature distribution using Scheme 5.
difference; (c) temperature distribution using Scheme 5.

4.
4. Conclusions
Conclusions
In
In the charging
charging and anddischarging
dischargingprocess
process ofof lithium-ion
lithium-ion batteries,
batteries, heatheat is generated
is generated and
and significantly
significantly changes
changes the temperature
the temperature distribution
distribution in thein the battery
battery modules modules and packs.
and packs. In this
In this awork,
work, heat ageneration
heat generation
for thefor the lithium-ion
lithium-ion batterybattery is modeled
is modeled based onbased
the on the exper-
experimental
imental
data. The data.
heatThe heat model
transfer transfercoupled
model with
coupled
liquidwith liquidmethod
cooling coolingismethod is further de-
further developed for
a BTMS.for
veloped Thea matrix
BTMS. analysis
The matrix is conducted
analysis isby employing
conducted by the orthogonal
employing the design
orthogonalmethodde-
for the
sign cooling
method forplate structure
the cooling parameters
plate structureand cooling strategies.
parameters and cooling The control strategies
strategies. The control for
the BTMSfor
strategies arethe
evaluated
BTMS are in terms of theineffectiveness,
evaluated terms of the thermal safetythermal
effectiveness, and electric power
safety and
requirement.
electric powerMajor conclusions
requirement. Major areconclusions
drawn as follows:
are drawn as follows:
(1) Thermal
(1) Thermal contactcontact resistance between
between the directcontacting
the direct contactinginterface
interface between
between thethe
battery
bat-
and cooling plate surfaces is significant and needs to be considered
tery and cooling plate surfaces is significant and needs to be considered in the mod- in the modelling
of theoftemperature
elling distribution.
the temperature distribution.
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 17 of 19

(2) For the rectangular channels in the cooling plates, the inlet flow rate has the most
significant impact on the temperature distribution in the battery module. In addition,
increasing channel height can effectively decrease the parasitic energy consumption
of the BTMS.
(3) Among the eight temperature control schemes, Scheme 5 adjusting the inlet flow
rate can maintain a reasonable temperature distribution range in the module and
has a lower energy consumption, which is considered as the better temperature
control scheme for the specific BTMS in this work. In addition, for Strategy (a), the
response time of BTMS is only affected by the temperature distribution, not by the
discharging/charging time of the battery.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, J.D. and X.L.; methodology, J.Z. and J.Y.; data curation,
X.L.; experimental design and analysis of results, S.P. and R.F.; writing—original draft preparation,
J.D. and M.F.; funding acquisition, J.Y. and J.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC,
51779025), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LGG19E060003), the
Ningbo Major Special Projects of the Plan “Science and Technology Innovation 2025” (2019B10048).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Data is contained within the article.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Nomenclature

Variables Greek Symbols

C specific heat (J/kg·K) δ thickness (m)
d the equivalent diameter of the channel (m) µ molecular viscosity (kg/m·s)
H height of fluid channel (mm) λ thermal conductivity (W/m·K)
j heat transfer factor η ratio of energy consumption of a
k rate of temperature change certain Scheme to that of Scheme 2
L width of fluid channel (mm) ρ density (kg/m3 )
P static pressure (Pa) τ the stress tensor
Pr Prandtl number
∆P pressure drop (Pa) Subscripts
qc heat exchange between the b battery
battery and the coolant (W) c coolant
.
q heat generation rate per unit env environment
volume (W/m3 )
R contact thermal resistance max maximum
Re Reynolds number sen sensible
St Stanton number
T temperature (◦ C) Acronyms
t time(s) BMS Battery management system
∆T temperature difference (◦ C) BTMS Battery thermal management system
→
u velocity vector CFD Computational fluid dynamics
V mass flow rate (kg/s) DOD Depth of discharge
Vb battery volume (m3 ) EER Energy efficiency ratio
EV Electric vehicle
HEV Hybrid electric vehicle
PCM Phase change material
SOC State of charge
UDF User defined function
Energies 2021, 14, 4187 18 of 19

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