Integrated pulsed cooling with non-uniform channel liquid plate and phase change material for high-energy-density battery thermal management

• An integrated non-uniform channel liquid cooling plate with PCM was designed. • The non-uniform channel liquid cooling plate effectively reduces localized hotspots. • The hybrid liquid cooling plate’s BMS balances temperature control and energy savings via pulsing. The battery thermal management system with liquid cooling plates provides excellent cooling performance. However, its uniform channel designs hinder heat dissipation efficiency. In this work, a liquid cooling plate designed with non-uniform channel widths is presented to address issues of uneven coolant distribution and significant local hotspots within battery modules. To address the high energy consumption associated with active liquid cooling technologies, a combination of liquid cooling plates with phase change material hybrid liquid cooling technology and a pulsed cooling mode is proposed. The design of non-uniform channels effectively addresses flow distribution issues commonly associated with uniform parallel channel liquid cooling plates. This enhancement significantly reduces localized hotspots from heat sources. With only a 6% increase in power consumption, the maximum battery temperature and maximum temperature difference can be lowered by 0.43°C and 0.3°C, respectively. Furthermore, compared to continuous cooling modes, employing a pulsating cooling mode in hybrid liquid cooling plates results in a maximum increase in battery temperature of 1.32°C. Nonetheless, it keeps the battery temperature within a safe range while reducing pump power consumption by 50%. This finding illustrates an effective balance between temperature control capabilities and energy savings.