A Thermal Investigation and Optimization of an Air-Cooled Lithium-Ion Battery Pack

Abstract

An effective battery thermal management system (BTMS) is essential to ensure that the battery pack operates within the normal temperature range, especially for multi-cell batteries. This paper studied the optimal configuration of an air-cooling (AC) system for a cylindrical battery pack. The thermal parameters of the single battery were measured experimentally. The heat dissipation performance of a single battery was analyzed and compared with the simulation results. The experimental and simulation results were in good agreement, which proves the validity of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Various schemes with different battery arrangements, different positions of the inlet and outlet of the cooling system and the number of inlets and outlets were compared. The results showed that an arrangement that uses a small length-width ratio is more conducive to promoting the performance of the cooling system. The inlet and outlet configuration of the cooling system, which facilitates fluid flow over most of the battery pack over shorter distances is more beneficial to battery thermal management. The configuration of a large number of inlets and outlets can facilitate more flexible adjustment of the fluid flow state and can slow down battery heating to a greater extent.

Design of an Optimized Thermal Management System for Li-Ion Batteries under Different Discharging Conditions

“…Of all the above-mentioned cooling techniques, the simplest one is the direct air-cooling method [15]. Air cooling method is based on the fundamental concept of convection to dissipate heat from the battery cells into its enclosing environment.…”

Recent Advancements in Battery Management System for Li‐Ion Batteries of Electric Vehicles: Future Role of Digital Twin, Cyber‐Physical Systems, Battery Swapping Technology, and Nondestructive Testing

“…Peng et al [ 27 ] conducted a survey on the three significant thermal management strategies namely air management, fluid management, and the use of phase‐changing materials. [ 27 ] The survey concluded with the critical direction of research in the field of multiobjective optimization in the field of battery variables, uniformity and equalization of each cell in the battery, optimization of the mechanical design (weight and volume), and development of consumer eccentric sustainable battery packs. Vergori and Yu [ 28 ] conducted the in‐operando thermal monitoring of Li‐ion cell through Rayleigh scattering‐based distributed optical fiber sensors.…”

Empirical Analysis of High Voltage Battery Pack Cells for Electric Racing Vehicles

“…The main cooling techniques include air cooling [5], liquid cooling [6] and phase change of material [7]. The direct air-cooling technique [8] is considered the simplest compared to other cooling techniques. Heat is basically dissipated from the battery cells through convection into the enclosure.…”