A review on the applications of micro-/mini-channels for battery thermal management

This review of the literature explores the potentials of liquid micro-/mini-channels to reduce operating temperatures and make temperature distributions more uniform in batteries. First, a classification and an overview of the various methods of battery thermal management are presented. Then, different types of lithium-ion batteries and their advantages and disadvantages are introduced, and the components of batteries are described in detail. The studies conducted on the performance of micro-/mini-channels for cooling all types of rectangular and cylindrical batteries are reviewed, and the key finding of these studies is presented. It is shown that, in general, using counterflow configuration creates a rather uniform temperature distribution in the battery cell and keeps the maximum temperature difference below 5 degrees C. The lowest battery maximum temperature is obtained for parallel and counterflow configurations in the straight and U-turn channels, respectively. In a parallel configuration, the peak point of the battery temperature is in the outlet area. However, in the counter-flow configuration, it occurs in the central region of the battery module. The survey of the literature further reveals that proper channel paths and flow configurations keep the battery maximum temperature within the safe range of 25 degrees C < T-max < 40 degrees C. For such flow configurations, the pressure drop remains minimally affected.