A novel 3D parametrization approach for topology optimization of rollbonded cooling plates

Schewe, Frederik, Klinke, Niklas and Elham, Ali (2024) A novel 3D parametrization approach for topology optimization of rollbonded cooling plates. Dröder, K. and Vietor, T. (eds.) In Circularity Days 2024. Springer. pp. 136-149 . (doi:10.1007/978-3-658-45889-8_11).

Abstract

Electric mobility depends on batteries, which typically require a thermal management system. Those systems are often realized as sheet metal plates with integrated channel structures. Rollbonding technology is one of the most promising technologies to produce such cooling plates due to the competitive cost structure in combination with its unmatched design freedom. However, the design of a cooling plate manufactured using rollbonding is challenging. Such a design requires thermal and hydraulic targets to be considered while manufacturing constraints must be satisfied. Due to the given design freedom and the conflicting targets manual design of cooling plates is challenging and requires significant development time and effort. Topology optimization is a popular method for automated and optimal design of components.

In this paper, the authors present a strategy to design rollbonded cooling plates by topology optimization, taking thermal, hydraulic, and manufacturing requirements into account. State-of-the-art methods usually consider channel shapes with rectangular cross-sections, ignoring the effects of realistically curved channel cross-sections as they result from the manufacturing technology. The authors present a novel parametrization strategy, considering the 3D channel shape in a realistic manner. The mathematical formulation of the novel modelling approach is shown and validated based on a small, simplified test case. The methodology is implemented into a custom, solver-agnostic framework and coupled with commercial Finite Element software.

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