Dual-Curved Cold-Plate Integration for Enhanced Liquid-Based Thermal Management of Cylindrical Li-Ion Batteries

Abstract Liquid-cold-plate-based battery thermal management systems (BTMSs) are widely adopted in new-energy vehicles (NEVs) due to their high heat-transfer efficiency and cost-effectiveness; however, their application to cylindrical batteries is limited by curvature-induced compatibility issues. To address this challenge, a novel dual-curved thermally conductive cold plate (TCCP) integrated with a liquid-based BTMS is proposed, providing an efficient and compact heat-transfer interface for cylindrical battery modules. The thermal behavior of the battery system is comprehensively evaluated under a high discharge rate of 5 C, with particular focus on the effects of the discharge rate, coolant flow speed (CFS), and TCCP structural parameters (including channel diameter, height, and contact angle). The results show that the single-channel dual-curved TCCP maintains the peak temperature and temperature variation below 310.39 and 4.40 K, respectively, at a CFS of 0.09 m/s. Furthermore, an optimized dual-channel TCCP-based BTMS is developed and evaluated against the single-channel design, demonstrating reductions in maximum temperature and temperature variation by 0.17 K and 7.50%, respectively, while simultaneously lowering CFS and weight ratio by 44.40 and 6.67%. Overall, the proposed dual-channel TCCP significantly enhances the thermal management performance and energy efficiency, offering a promising pathway for extending the cycle life and mileage of NEVs.