Effect of spacing on thermal performance characteristics of Li-ion battery cells

Abstract

In this article, effect of spacing between the battery cells ($$\bar{W}_{\text{f}}$$) on thermal performance of Li-ion battery cells is investigated in detail. Developing a finite volume method-based numerical code for the present analysis, conjugate boundary condition at the cell and coolant interface is considered. SIMPLE algorithm employed for solving the Navier–Stokes equation is validated with famous benchmark lid-driven cavity problem. The heat generation inside the modern battery cell is uniform in accordance with cell zone. Air being the coolant flows between the channel spacing of the battery cells. Forced laminar flow of coolant and steady-state analysis with operating parameters like heat generation term ($$\bar{S}_{\text{q}}$$), Reynolds number (Re), conduction–convection parameter (ζcc), and aspect ratio (Ar) is analyzed with main focus of $$\bar{W}_{\text{f}}$$. The range of $$\bar{W}_{\text{f}}$$ is from 0.02 to 0.14 varied in steps of 0.02 and Re from 250 to 2000 in step of 250. Coupled heat transfer behavior in terms of maximum temperature and average Nusselt number for these parameters is provided. From the numerical analysis, it is observed that for most of the range of operating parameters, at $$\bar{W}_{\text{f}} = 0.02$$, causes a sudden increase in temperature distribution and rise in maximum temperature above critical limits. Average Nusselt number increased with decrease in $$\bar{W}_{\text{f}}$$ up to 0.04 and below this, it dropped. Spacing of $$\bar{W}_{\text{f}} = 0.04$$ and $$\bar{W}_{\text{f}} = 0.06$$ proved to be an optimal spacing at which average Nusselt number is the highest and the maximum temperature is within the safe limit for parameters considered.