The performance management of a Li-ion battery by using tree-like mini-channel heat sinks: Experimental and numerical optimization

Thermal management systems are crucial for the performance, lifetime, safety of Li-ion battery used in electric (all-electric) vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. The present work puts forward a novel tree-like mini-channel heat sink for cooling a single prismatic Li-ion cell at 4C discharge rate. The performance evaluation of the Li-ion battery by using tree-type mini-channel heat sink is investigated numerically and experimentally. The effects of the inlet width and slant angle of the oblique channels on the maximum temperature and temperature difference of the Li-ion battery during the discharge process are examined. Based on the numerical results, the single-objective and multi-objective genetic algorithm optimizations are employed to get the best geometrical parameters. Results show that the Li-ion battery with a tree-type mini-channel heat sink provides much better thermal performance than that with the corresponding straight mini-channel, and that the optimized Li-ion battery has a maximum temperature of 33.69 °C and the temperature difference of 4.86 °C with a pressure drop penalty of 17.99 Pa.