Structural optimization and cooling performance study of bionic spiral channel liquid cooling plate

To effectively prevent local overheating and enhance the thermal safety margin during high-rate charging, a liquid cooling plate featuring a bio-inspired channel structure was designed. The thermophysical properties of the battery cells were determined experimentally. The influence of three key structural parameters—length ratio, spiral angle, and width ratio—on the cooling performance was analyzed. The results demonstrated that the optimal heat transfer performance was achieved with a length ratio of 0.75, a spiral angle of 160°, and a width ratio of 0.85. Furthermore, the cooling performance of three typical channel designs (PC, CC, TVC) with identical flow area was compared. Based on the calculated mathematical expectation, the spiral channel design exhibited the best overall cooling performance. Additionally, the impact of varying the inlet and outlet positions of the coolant on the thermal management of the battery module was investigated. The results indicated that placing the inlet and outlet on the same side yielded the most effective cooling. Under this configuration, the maximum temperature of the battery module was 304.84 K, and the average temperature per cell was 302.324 K. • Spiral channel liquid cooling plate was used for battery thermal management. • Experimental determination of the battery's thermophysical properties. • Compared the heat performance of Spiral Channel and three typical channels. • Effect of coolant inlet/outlet positions on the battery module heat dissipation.