Air-cooled thermal management of electric vehicle batteries: Insights from CFD simulations on enclosure geometry configurations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/ijame.23.1.2026.11.1009Keywords:
BTMS , CFD , Electric vehicle, Battery Performance, Cooling systemAbstract
In the rapidly advancing field of electric vehicles (EVs), optimizing battery thermal management is crucial for enhancing performance, safety, and lifespan. EV batteries are prone to overheating, which can significantly degrade their efficiency and longevity, posing safety risks. This study employs Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to evaluate six air-cooled battery thermal management system (BTMS) designs, including the high-performing BTMS-H and BTMS-J configurations. The analysis focuses on the effects of inlet air velocity and battery pack enclosure geometry on temperature distribution, airflow patterns, and pressure gradients. The methodology involved steady-state, incompressible simulations using ANSYS Fluent, with mesh construction, grid-independence testing, and validation against experimental data, yielding relative errors between 6.5% and 11.9%. Results indicate that higher inlet velocities significantly improve heat dissipation and temperature uniformity. BTMS-H and BTMS-J achieved the highest heat transfer coefficients (190.020 W/m²·K and 187.266 W/m²·K, respectively). In BTMS-H, increasing inlet velocity from 2 m/s to 4 m/s reduced the average temperature from 310.38 K to 307.75 K. Enlarging inlet/outlet sizes further decreased temperatures, demonstrating the importance of optimizing duct dimensions for improved airflow. These findings provide practical guidance for designing compact, energy-efficient, and thermally safe BTMS in EVs, thereby supporting the development of more reliable and high-performance electric vehicle battery systems.
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