Daniel Zhu
Research Mentor: Solomon Adera
Mentor Department: MechE, Engineering
Author(s): Daniel Zhu, Young JIn Lee, Hrushikesh Jadhav, Solomon Adera
Session: Session 7 (4:00 PM – 4:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 27
Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries generate excess heat during operation, which impacts their performance and safety. To improve the lifetime and prevent dangerous thermal runaway, proper heat removal methods are needed to maintain operational temperatures. In this project, we investigated the heat removal efficiency of direct immersion liquid cooling on an LG 21700 M50LT lithium-ion battery cell, commonly used by automotive companies in Electric Vehicles (EV’s). Water is circulated through the cooling jacket through helical or hollow channels, and the performance of thermal removal is measured, then compared to a baseline given by natural air convection. Constant conditions are maintained for all measurements to ensure a fair comparison of the cooling efficiency of each jacket, including a coolant flow rate of 0.9 L/min and charging and discharging rates. The temperature of the fluid entering and exiting the battery is measured using thermocouples, and the battery temperature is measured through embedded thermocouples within the battery. Additionally, the efficiency of operating the device is measured by measuring a pressure drop of 23.5 kpa, corresponding to a hydraulic pumping power of 0.35 W. In addition, a numerical model was developed using the Icepak module in ANSYS Fluent. This model simulates the heat generation of the 21700 battery based on input current and voltage data, and the behavior of the battery under various boundary cooling conditions. This simulation resulted in data supporting the efficiency of incorporating immersive cooling, supporting the data collected from the physical experimentation. In conclusion, these results show how the immersive cooling employed by a helical jacket provides effective and uniform cooling of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries operating under reasonable pumping power. This approach to battery cooling proves to be efficient in reducing peak battery temperatures and scalable to thermal management of higher operations, such as those in EV’s.
