Design and Optimization of a Novel Microchannel Battery Thermal Management System Based on Digital Twin

Abstract

In order to avoid high-temperature and large rate discharge impact on the performance of battery modules, a microchannel liquid cooling battery thermal management system (BTMS) and BTMS virtual model of the microchannel structure based on digital twin (DT) is proposed. On the basis of accurate virtual simulation model, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and the Gaussian process regression algorithm were combined to drive the optimization process in order to improve the cooling capacity of the system. The results show that the microchannel plates can greatly enhance the cooling capacity of the direct cooling system and effectively improve the uniformity of the coolant. The width of the microchannel plates and the side spacing actually represent the amount of coolant flowing through the inside and outside of the battery module, which significantly impacts the maximum temperature and maximum temperature difference. Increasing the coolant flow can only effectively improve the cooling capacity of the module to a limited extent. Gaussian process regression based on the DT virtual model is more suitable for analyzing the interaction between multiple factors and obtaining global optimization results. After optimization, the maximum temperature and the maximum temperature difference of the system are reduced by 4.02 °C and 5.05 °C, respectively. The proposed structure and method are expected to provide insights into the design and development of battery thermal management systems.