Hybrid thermal management for achieving extremely uniform temperature distribution in a lithium battery module with phase change material and liquid cooling channels

To enhance the performance, life span, safety, and reliability of a Li-ion battery module operating with a high discharge rate, not only lessening the average temperature of the battery module is indispensable, but also providing a uniform temperature distribution between the cells and on their surfaces is essential. In the current study, a novel hybrid battery thermal management system (BTMS) including phase change material (PCM) and liquid cooling channels that is suitable for achieving a perfect uniform temperature distribution in a battery module comprising prismatic cells is proposed, and its performance in comparison with some similar BTMSs is investigated numerically under different discharging rates and different coolant flow rates. Simulation results show that for discharging rate of 2C, the maximum temperature difference between the cells is 2.8 °C for the passive BTMS. However, for the proposed hybrid BTMS with counter-flow cooling streams, this temperature difference surprisingly decreases to