Enhanced Integrated Cooling-Protection Plate for Battery pack Underbody Impact Resistance in Electric Vehicles

In the quest for enhancing electric vehicle performance and safety, this paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the design and performance of high-voltage (HV) battery cooling plates featuring dedicated cooling channels, integrated with structural bottom protection members. The study aims to address the dual challenges of thermal management and crash protection in electric vehicles during bottom impacts. The research evaluates the cooling efficiency and structural resilience of the proposed design through a combination of design iterations, thermal performance evaluation, and crash simulations. Findings reveal that the integrated cooling plates not only maintain optimal battery temperatures under various operating conditions but also significantly improve the vehicle's crashworthiness. It was found that the cooling efficiency of the HV battery plates improved compared to competitor’s design, resulting in a more stable thermal environment for the battery cells. Moreover, dedicated cooling channels result in a lower maximum battery temperature, with the temperature difference within the heated surface being less than 5 °C under peak load conditions. This leads to a more uniform temperature distribution and significant reductions in hot spots. Additionally, integrating structural crash members increased the energy absorption capacity by 33%, enhancing the vehicle's crashworthiness during bottom impacts when compared to no integrated structural crash members. The combined design led to around 14% reduction in the overall weight of the battery module, contributing to better vehicle performance and efficiency.