Experimental Study on Topology-Optimized Cold Plates for Batteries Considering Length Scale Control

Abstract

Liquid cooling through a cold plate offers an efficient solution for battery thermal management. Excellent flow and heat transfer performance can be obtained by optimizing the flow channel structure of the cold plate using the topology optimization method. However, due to the uneven channel width of the optimized cold plate, there are some difficulties in processing, which affect its practical application in battery thermal management. In this study, the length scale control method is applied to a topology-optimized cold plate. An optimized cold plate considering length scale control is designed and processed, and its experimental results of flow and heat transfer are compared with those of a traditional cold plate and an optimized cold plate without length scale control. Results show that the relative deviations between the numerical and experimental results with length scale control are within 5% and 8% for temperature and pressure drop, respectively. The flow channel structure of the cold plate with length scale control is simpler and easier to process than that of the cold plate without length scale control. When the inlet velocity is 0.23 m/s, the maximum temperature, maximum temperature difference, and pressure drop of the cold plate with length scale control are 5.7 K, 4.4 K, and 0.56 Pa lower than those of the traditional cold plate, respectively. This study provides valuable insights and practical guidance for the manufacturing and implementation of topology-optimized cold plates in battery thermal management systems.

Keywords

Length scale control / Topology-optimized cold plate / Battery thermal management

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