Investigate the effect of a novel inlet header on the thermal and hydraulic performance of a liquid cold plate used for cooling the Li-ion battery cell of electric vehicles

Abstract

EV batteries tend to generate a significant amount of heat due to internal resistance during operation. The LCP using the regular inlet struggles to have good fluid distribution without depending on the flow rate. The aim of the present experimental study is to introduce a new design of inlet header called shower head to be used in the liquid cold plate for cooling the battery cells. The study investigates the thermal performance improvements by using the shower head and its impact on the hydraulic performance of the liquid cold plate. The shower head is studied at Reynolds number range 382–1530 and water is the working fluid. The results indicate that the shower head achieved significant reduction in the surface temperature of the battery cell and good temperature uniformity compared to the regular inlet at all Reynolds numbers due to the ability of the shower head to achieve good fluid distribution and mixing inside the LCP. The pumping power consumption difference between the regular inlet and the shower head is not significant.