A Synergistic Hybrid CPCM–Liquid Thermal Management System for High-Power Battery Modules

Rising demand for high-performance battery thermal management systems (BTMSs) has rendered single-mode cooling insufficient for advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in new energy vehicles (NEVs), particularly under high discharge rates. This study proposes a synergistic hybrid BTMS integrating composite phase-change material (CPCM)–aluminum foam with liquid cooling to enhance thermal regulation of cylindrical battery modules under 5 C discharge conditions. Multiple liquid-cooled plate (LCP) configurations, including serpentine, straight, and leaf-shaped designs, together with different flow channel topologies (FCTs), were systematically investigated and optimized. The effects of coolant flow speed (CFS) and ambient temperature were also analyzed. Results indicate that the optimized leaf-shaped LCP with FCT #2 delivers superior performance, limiting the maximum temperature to 309.98 K, reducing temperature difference by 7.6%, and decreasing pressure drop by 88.79% compared to the serpentine configuration. Increasing CFS improves heat dissipation and delays PCM melting, although it raises pressure losses. Furthermore, the proposed system maintains a cell-to-cell temperature difference below 0.51 K, indicating excellent thermal uniformity. Compared to a CPCM-only system, the hybrid BTMS reduces peak temperature by 8.81 K under elevated ambient conditions (309.15 K), demonstrating strong potential for reliable and efficient thermal management in demanding operating environments.