Water/nanofluid pulsating flow in thermoelectric module for cooling electric vehicle battery systems

Abstract

We investigated the results of the cooling performance of the pulsating water/nanofluids flowing in the thermoelectric cooling module for cooling electric vehicle battery systems. The experimental system was designed and constructed to consider the effects of the water block configuration, hot and cold side flow rates, supplied power input, and coolant types on the cooling performance of the thermoelectric module. The measured results from the present study with the Peltier module are verified against those without the thermoelectric module. Before entering the electric vehicle battering system with a Peltier module, the inlet coolant temperatures were 2.5-3.5℃ lower than those without the thermoelectric system. On the hot side, the maximum COP of the thermoelectric cooling module was 1.10 and 1.30 for water and nanofluids as coolant, respectively. The results obtained from the present approach can be used to optimize the battery cooling technique to operate in an appropriate temperature range for getting higher energy storage, durability, lifecycles, and efficiency.