Thermal Performance of a Novel Honeycomb Cooling System for Cylindrical Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

In this article, the effects of circular, cylindrical, square, and hexagonal crater shapes on cooling performance were analyzed by numerical simulation and experimental verification, and then a new honeycomb cooling structure for cylindrical batteries (18650 type for example) was proposed. The effects of honeycomb depth, side length and wall thickness on the cooling performance were investigated. A quadratic response regression model was numerically calculated based on the experimental scheme obtained from the Box-Behnken central combination test. The results showed that the hexagonal crater cooling structure can reduce the maximum battery temperature by 5.3% compared to the non-crater cooling structure. Therefore, the proposed honeycomb structure was reasonable. In addition, increasing the depth and the hedge length could effectively reduce the maximum battery temperature and temperature difference, and when a certain value was exceeded, a reverse temperature growth trend occurs. Within the range of variation, wall thickness had little effect on the cooling performance. The cooling performance was optimal when the depth is 0.475 mm, the side length is 1.250 mm, and the wall thickness is 0.125 mm. The novel cooling structure proposed in this study can provide a new idea for the structural design of air-cooled thermal management system for cylindrical batteries.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jingpeng Zhou

Jingpeng Zhou is currently pursuing a master's degree in power engineering and engineering thermophysics at Jiangsu University. His research interests include battery thermal management and gas-liquid two-phase flow.

Senhao Zhang

Senhao Zhang received his bachelor's degree in armored vehicle engineering from North Central University. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in power engineering at Jiangsu University. His research interests include battery thermal management and the study of fuel cell droplet dynamic behavior.

Hang Yang

Hang Yang received his bachelor's degree in vehicle engineering from Jiangxi University of Technology. He is presently pursuing a master's degree in power engineering at Jiangsu University. His research concern is lithium-ion battery immersion cooling.

Fei Dong

Fei Dong is a professor in the School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering at Jiangsu University. His research includes multiphase flow and heat transfer in fuel cells, novel power system development and application, multiphase flow and heat transfer in internal combustion engines, and laser thermal action mechanism. He has chaired several national and provincial natural science foundation projects.