With the rapid development of new energy technologies, liquid-cooled battery packs have been widely used in many fields, and the reasonable configuration of liquid cooling plates is crucial to ensure the performance and safety of battery packs.
The total amount of heat generated during the charging and discharging process varies with the battery capacity. For small-capacity battery packs, such as batteries in power tools, the heat generation power is relatively low. At lower charge and discharge rates, a simple liquid cooling plate structure and a lower coolant flow rate may be enough to meet the heat dissipation requirements. However, as the charge and discharge rate increases, the heat generation rate accelerates, and the heat dissipation area or coolant flow rate of the liquid cooling plate needs to be adjusted accordingly to prevent the battery temperature from being too high and affecting performance and life.
Large-capacity battery packs, such as batteries for electric vehicles, generate considerable heat even at conventional charge and discharge rates due to the large number of batteries and high energy density. At this time, the liquid cooling plate needs to have a higher heat dissipation efficiency, and its flow channel design should be more complex and optimized to ensure that the coolant can fully take away the heat and maintain the temperature uniformity of the battery pack. For example, use multi-branch flow channels or increase the heat exchange surface area of the flow channel to allow the coolant to have a more sufficient heat exchange with the liquid cooling plate.
At low charge and discharge rates, the liquid cooling plate can focus on optimizing temperature uniformity. By rationally designing the flow channel direction and distribution, the temperature deviation of each part of the battery pack can be minimized, reducing the problem of inconsistent battery performance caused by uneven temperature. For example, a combination of serpentine flow channels or parallel flow channels can be used to balance the coolant flow and heat transfer in different areas.
Under high charge and discharge rate conditions, rapid heat dissipation becomes the key. The liquid cooling plate must be able to withstand a greater heat flux density, which may require increasing the flow rate of the coolant, selecting a liquid cooling plate material with better thermal conductivity, or increasing the thickness of the liquid cooling plate. For example, use aluminum alloy materials with high thermal conductivity, and increase the power of the coolant pump within the allowable range to enhance the heat dissipation effect.
Under different battery capacities and charge and discharge rate combinations, the energy consumption of the liquid cooling system must also be considered. While meeting the heat dissipation requirements, try to reduce the energy consumption of equipment such as the coolant pump. For low capacity and low rate, avoid over-designing the liquid cooling plate to cause unnecessary energy consumption; for high capacity and high rate, find a balance between efficient heat dissipation and energy consumption, such as using an intelligently controlled liquid cooling system to dynamically adjust the operating parameters of the liquid cooling plate according to the battery temperature and working status.
The configuration of the liquid cooling plate also needs to be combined with the packaging form and space limitations of the battery pack. To achieve the best heat dissipation effect in a limited space, the shape and size of the liquid cooling plate need to be optimized. For example, a special-shaped liquid cooling plate or a multi-layer structure is used to adapt to different battery arrangements and spatial layouts.
For different battery capacities and charge and discharge rates, the configuration scheme of the liquid cooling battery pack liquid cooling plate needs to be studied and optimized comprehensively based on multiple factors. Only in this way can we ensure that the liquid cooling battery pack can operate efficiently, stably and safely under various working conditions, and promote the further development of the new energy industry.
