Thermal management improvement for a pack of cylindrical batteries using nanofluids and topological modifications

Cooling of the electrical vehicles’ battery is of crucial importance, as it affects the performance of the electrical power system, discharging duration, and subsequently their market acceptance. Present numerical work aims at analysing the improvement of the thermal management system by topological changes, which can be easily and affordably performed. The influence of AgO-water nanofluid with a volume fraction of 3% is also evaluated. A pack involving 10 cylindrical batteries with a constant heat flux is studied, which is merged by the nanofluid flow. Effects of changing the location of the inlet/outlet ports and inserting one or two plates to guide the fluid flow are assessed. The analysis was performed for a range of Reynolds number (based on the inlet pack diameter) from 1000 to 2000. It is shown that the topological modifications can improve the Nusselt number by more than 25%, while the Reynolds number rising from 1000 to 2000 makes a maximum increase of 30%. However, it follows a maximum 50% increment in the pressure drop. The proposed geometries indicate a more uniform temperature distribution compared to the simple cooling system without guiding plates by about 50%. •Setting both inlet and outlet on the same side made 15% increment in the Nusselt number.•Applying guiding plates could increase heat transfer by a factor of 1.25.•Setting both above changes formed 80% improvement in temperature uniformity index.•The results showed that simple topological changes helped to remove hot spots.