Computational Study on Design of Battery Cooling System for Retrofitted EV Passenger Cars

In this study, a prospect of employing electric fans in a battery cooling system was investigated by means of a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis. The concept was to have the fans to stimulate appropriate air flows inside the battery compartment. A rear utility space behind back passenger seats was dedicated for the battery compartment containing 100 cells of Lithium Ion batteries. Due to limited working space, a battery arrangement was conceived as a double stacking configuration. In computational analysis, the heat source model of employed batteries was obtained from the experimental work. Several potential designs of cooling patterns were investigated. The design parameters of interest were locations of inlet/outlet, and air flow rate. The performance criteria of cooling system were resulting battery temperatures, temperature distribution uniformity, required pump pressure, and structural integrity. The optimum design comprising of position of electric fans and outlets will be discussed in relation to practical aspect of daily usage.