Lithium-ion battery thermal management system using MWCNT-based nanofluid flowing through parallel distributed channels: An experimental investigation

In the present research, a newly designed liquid-based battery thermal management system (BTMS) for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is developed and its thermal performance at different discharge rates (C-rates) is experimentally examined. The influence of various performance parameters such as the number of channels, flow configurations, working fluids, and C-rates on the cooling performance of the proposed BTMS is evaluated. Pure water, binary fluid (70 % water + 30 % ethylene glycol (EG)), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-based nanofluids at different volume fractions (ϕ_v) (0.15 %, 0.30 %, and 0.45 %) in the binary fluid are used in this study and their cooling effectiveness to keep battery temperature within ideal ranges is compared. The experiments are performed at 0.5C, 1.2C, and 2.1C rates and it is discovered that nanofluids provide superior cooling performance compared to water and binary fluid mixture. Results demonstrate that the cooling performance is enhanced with the number of channels, nanoparticle concentration, and flow configurations. Nanofluid with 0.45 % ϕ_v of MWCNTs shows the maximum drop in battery temperature which is about 8.7 °C for configuration I, 11.8 °C for configuration II, and 17.1 °C for configuration III, respectively. Among all the flow configurations, configuration III gives the best cooling effectiveness and lowers the average temperature of cells by 10–17.01 °C using different working fluids. Configuration III also enhances the battery temperature uniformity and maintains the maximum temperature deviation within the battery module (∆T_max) inside 1.5–2.4 °C for different working fluids at a 2.1C rate, which is well below 5 °C, and hence it helps to prevent the thermal runaway (TR) condition. Additionally, nanofluid with 0.45 % ϕ_v increases pressure drop (Δp) by 23.98 % and 17.91 % compared to water for single and dual channel arrangements, respectively.