Optimizing thermal performance in air-cooled Li-ion battery packs with vortex generators for cleaner energy storage

Although air cooling approaches are inexpensive and simple to build, the rate of heat dissipation is not as high as that of other cooling methods. There are a number of well-liked, innovative air-cooled techniques that improve cooling performance without compromising cost, including the placement of ducts, fins, battery pack (BP) designs, and battery layout. One symmetrical T-type duct was selected for the current investigation. Using the ANSYS Fluent CFD software, a comparative analysis has been conducted for the eight prismatic-cell BPs with different geometrical layouts, as well as varying intake temperature and inlet velocity parameters. The newly developed model incorporates counter-rotating multiple vortex generators (MVGs) in the Baseline T-shaped symmetrical duct's inlet. The MVGs' inclination angles are 45°, 60°, and 75°, and their distance from the inlet opening has also been adjusted. The results of the investigation showed that, in comparison to the baseline model, the BP layout with MVGs effectively reduced the temperature inside the BPs. In Case_II_Model_1.1, strategically placed MVGs significantly reduced BP temperature by generating strong turbulence within the duct. This enhanced airflow mixing between hot and cold regions, leading to improved heat dissipation and more uniform temperature distribution across the cells. The MVGs promote even airflow at a 60° inclination angle, which results in a uniform temperature distribution across the BP. The difference between individual cells reduces to nearly 5-7 °C, resulting in a perceptible drop in temperature for each cell. It was additionally observed that the layouts that had the MVGs near the BP and at a 45° angle decreased the amount of heat that accumulated most significantly. Air cooling techniques using MVGs inside the input duct channel have shown significant thermal performance in terms of temperature reduction in battery thermal management systems (BTMS). Furthermore, almost all the modified BP designs achieved significant temperature drops of 7 °C for individual cells within the BP at a 2.5C rate.