Enhancing thermal performance of cylindrical Li-ion battery packs: A 3D simulation with strategic phase change material integration and airflow control

Abstract

This study conducts a three-dimensional simulation of the temperature of a cylindrical Li-ion battery (LIB) pack with nine cells. The cells are arranged in the pack in square and diamond configurations, and the pack is filled with phase-change materials (PCMs). The airflow enters the channel from two inlets at 90° with respect to the pack and is guided by two blades at the sides of the inlet toward the pack. Arc-shaped and linear blades were used for this study, which was carried out for 2500 s. The results indicate that the square arrangement of batteries, combined with the use of curved blades, has been more effective in reducing temperature. In this configuration, a more uniform distribution of air flow and better efficiency of the PCM in absorbing heat were observed, leading to a significant decrease in the overall temperature of the battery pack. Specifically, compared to the diamond arrangement, the temperature of the batteries in the square arrangement was up to 10 °C lower. This reduction in temperature plays an important role in enhancing the lifespan and safety of the batteries. By using machine learning and providing the optimal model for the maximum temperature of the battery surface, it was shown that this parameter was designed with the model and comparing it with the numerical results had an error of 2.01 %.