Numerical Investigation of cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack Thermal Management

Rapid movement of vehicle industry towards electrification has generated need for efficient and time saving methods to predict temperature across battery pack in different operating conditions which will assist in designing effective cooling methods for battery. The main requirements for efficient working of Li-Ion battery are (a) optimum operating temperature range and (b) small variation of temperature across the battery pack cells. Temperature across pack increases during charging and discharging cycles of battery in different operating cycles of machine. Especially due to high current rates in discharging, there is large temperature rise in battery. Elevated temperature profiles inside battery adversely affects many performance parameters like power, charge acceptance, life cycle and influences electrochemical reaction inside cells. Temperatures above the specified limits will cause degradation of performance and deterioration of material. If dissipation of heat is not efficient, it can even cause burning of cells which create safety issues. If temperature distribution across pack is not uniform and there is large variation, the localization of high temperature will cause ageing of material which further introduces loss of efficiency and reduction in life span of battery. The objective of the paper is to numerically predict maximum heat generated and the variation in temperature profile across Li-Ion battery pack with current profile in charging and discharging cycles. The paper focuses on the development of CFD simulation approach for prediction of thermal profile across Li-Ion battery pack through commercial CFD software