Comparative CFD Analysis of Air Cooling Performance in Inline and Couple Arrangements of 12-Cell Prismatic Battery Modules

Thermal management is a key aspect to maintain both the performance and safety of electric vehicle batteries. This study focuses on analyzing the air-cooling system for a prismatic battery pack containing 12 cells arranged in an aligned and paired configuration. Simulations using a 3D RNG k-ε model with enhanced wall treatment were conducted. Various airflow rates of 3, 12, and 21 L/s were used to evaluate the temperature distribution as well as the magnitude of the pressure drop. The results indicated that increasing the airflow rate reduced the module’s temperature but resulted in an increase in pressure drop. When compared to the inline configuration, the paired arrangement provides more even cooling despite the increase in pressure drop. An increase in airflow from 3 L/s to 21 L/s can reduce the average module’s temperature from 36.7°C to 32.9°C in the inline arrangement, and from 31.7°C to 30.0°C in the paired arrangement. These findings provide important insights for the development of battery thermal management systems, especially for simple cooling methods with low airflow rates.