Air Cooling Concepts for Li-Ion Battery Pack in Cell Level

Abstract

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling is used to study different cooling architectures for the next generation (Gen-2) EREV Li-Ion battery package. There might be advantages of air cooled batteries with respect to complexity, cost and reliability compared to liquid cooled systems like the EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) GEN1 battery. Therefore, the feasibility of air cooling architectures is investigated first and later liquid cooling strategies. In this study, the thermal performance and pressure drop of the cell level for two of the core product designs are reported. The parameters considered in this study include two different heat generations (heat sources) by the battery pack and three cooling flow rates. The heat generations used are 500 W and 1500 W representing the normal driving and peak load conditions, respectively. The cooling flow rates are 100, 200 and 600 m3/h. The battery cell temperatures, both in terms of absolute value and the variation within the cell, and the pressure drop which is related to the required pumping power, are evaluated and presented.