The present study investigates a novel battery thermal management system employing air cooling with a stair-step configuration. Experimental research focused on a battery pack with nine lithium-ion cells, complemented by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations using an Ansys-Fluent battery module. Initially, the battery pack reached a temperature of 80°C under load, which was reduced to 60°C with air cooling. The introduction of an additional cooling fan at the top further lowered cell temperatures to 49°C. The incorporation of the stair-step design and secondary fan increased cooling efficiency from 10% to 14.2%. Numerical simulations identified hot-spots and convection currents within the battery module. Overall, the most desired design is a combination of the stair step configuration with an additional fan. These findings hold promise for enhancing the thermal management of lithium-ion batteries and optimizing their overall performance and safety.
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