Exploration on the liquid-based energy storage battery system from system design, parametric optimization, and control strategy

Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly employed for energy storage systems, yet their applications still face thermal instability and safety issues. This study aims to develop an efficient liquid-based thermal management system that optimizes heat transfer and minimizes system consumption under different operating conditions. A thermal-fluidic model which incorporates fifty-two 280 Ah batteries and a baffled cold plate is established. The reliability of battery heat generation is confirmed experimentally, with a maximum deviation of 14.8 %. Then, comparative studies are performed to evaluate the impacts of cold plate structure and attachment on thermal management performance. Results found that while side-attachment shows better heat transfer, bottom-attachment coupled with a baffled cold plate reduces the temperature gradient and power consumption at both cooling and preheating scenarios. Furthermore, the effects of flow rate and inlet temperature are studied systematically, and a decision making method is utilized to assist in multi-attribute optimization. Finally, a surrogate model is proposed to unveil the collaborative effects between these factors. Based on this, an optimal thermal management strategy with controllable flow rate and inlet temperature is obtained according to ambient temperatures. The proposed framework provides a feasible approach to improve the design and control of liquid-based battery thermal management.