Embedded Copper Foam Effect on the Nanofluids Thermal Cooling Performance of the Electric Vehicle Battery Pack
Abstract
Power packs generate complex heat while used, significantly affecting thermal performance and lifetime energy storage devices. For this reason, thermal cooling is essential to the system's functioning. Improving heat management systems is crucial for fully using electric mobility as EV technology progresses. Flowing a ferrofluid cooling system via a channel flow channel integrated with the copper foam sheet has been performed. This study continuously employed numerical analysis and experimental data to estimate the battery pack's temperature distribution. Aluminum cooling channels, some with and without copper foam sheets, comprise the battery module. The research examined the pack, which has twelve prismatic cells with a combined current of 50A and a voltage of 38.4V. The surface area increases when the flow channel containing the copper foam sheet experiences increased turbulence. With increasing porosity, a copper foam structure experiences a more significant heat transfer enhancement and inertial drag due to separation flow. Therefore, the PM_CM1mm results in a cooling battery pack compared to the two variants without copper foam. For NPM_CW2mm, the hottest temperature is 32 oC; for NPM_CW1mm, it is 30.2 oC; and for PM_CW1mm, it is 29.4 oC. However, many relevant parameters are significant to the cooling performance of the cooling pack with copper foam, and this must be continuously studied. These results are relevant to developing the battery thermal management system as they investigate various methods to improve thermal cooling and heat transfer to achieve stable and safe operation.