Design and Performance Optimization of an Air-Cooled Battery Thermal Management System Based on Flow Field Disturbance

As global energy concerns and environmental challenges intensify, the automotive industry is rapidly transitioning toward more sustainable solutions, with new energy vehicles, particularly battery electric vehicles (BEVs), at the forefront. BEVs depend on lithium-ion batteries due to their high energy efficiency, large storage capacity, and ability to support long-range driving. However, maintaining optimal performance, safety, and battery longevity is critical, especially during high-rate charging and discharging operations. To address these challenges, effective battery thermal management systems (BTMS) are essential. Poor thermal management can lead to overheating, reduced battery lifespan, and potential safety hazards. This study focuses on improving air-cooled BTMS, which are widely used for their cost-effectiveness, by introducing spoilers to enhance airflow within the cooling channels. By combining simulation with experimental methods, experiments on the air-cooled BTMS considering different air inlet and outlet positions were conducted, verifying the feasibility of the proposed method in other air-cooled BTMS. The results show that the system with L-type inlet and outlet arrangement demonstrated superior temperature uniformity, reducing the maximum temperature difference by 4.97 K compared to the system of Z-type. Moreover, in the further experimental investigation of adding the sopilers appropriately in the cooling channel, the thermal performance of both modified Z-opt and I-opt systems significantly improved. The I-opt system showed the best thermal performance, with its peak temperature being 6.49 K lower than that of the system with Z-type, and a temperature difference reduced by 8.35 K, which underscores the potential of incorporating turbulence promoters like spoilers in air-cooled BTMS designs.