Development of a Cooling System for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

This study focuses on designing and optimizing a plate heat exchanger for a vanadium redox flow battery's cooling and thermal stabilization system. Thermal and hydraulic calculations were conducted, and 3D models of copper plate heat exchangers with various configurations were developed using SolidW orks. Numerical modelling and analytical methods were used to evaluate heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics. Results indicate that the optimal configuration features a 10 mm thick heat exchanger with rectangular internal channels measuring 6x4 mm. At a coolant flow rate of 42 g/s, this design achieves a temperature drop of 1.72 °C, an outlet temperature of 26.72 °C, and a minimal pressure drop of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\leq 0.075$</tex> bar. Heat flux removal ranges from 275 to 526 W, sufficient to meet the cooling demands of redox battery stacks requiring 50 W per stack. This optimized heat exchanger design ensures effective thermal management, enhancing battery efficiency and operational performance while potentially increasing electricity generation capacity.