Comparative study of thermal management system for wide temperature safety of large-capacity energy storage batteries

Even though thermal management systems have been widely developed to maintain the thermal stability and safety of lithium-ion battery, a comprehensive comparison remains insufficient for large-scale battery module, particularly across wide temperature ranges. For this purpose, a numerical framework that includes electrochemical-thermal coupled model, aging model, thermal runaway model, and hydrodynamic model is established for 46.592 kWh battery module. The aim of this study is to comprehensively assess the thermal management efficiency of different methods under low-temperature preheating, normal cooling, and thermal runaway protection scenarios. Results found that under the given configuration, battery heating rate is ordered as immersion heating > film heating > liquid heating plate, and the latter two approaches show larger thermal inhomogeneities due to battery anisotropy and longer heat transfer paths. For normal cooling condition, immersion cooling needs more power consumption to maintain the same inlet flow rate than air cooling and liquid cooling plate, but its superior cooling performance can slow down battery capacity fading after long-term cycling. Additionally, liquid cooling plate and immersion cooling allow for delaying thermal propagation after onset of thermal runaway, whereas boiling-based system can effectively prohibit thermal runaway from local overheating due to its phase change cooling effect.