Design and optimization of a novel reverse layered air‐cooling battery management system using U and Z type flow patterns

Summary Battery thermal management technology is critical to the lifespan and performance of the lithium‐ion battery packs. In this work, a reverse layered series cooling scheme with a U/Z type flow pattern is introduced to enhance the temperature uniformity of the forced‐air cooling BTMS. The cooling performance of the current design is investigated and compared with that of the parallel cooling for the dynamic unsteady heat generation process. It is demonstrated that the proposed cooling scheme provides good cooling performance and uniform temperature distribution. Then, the geometric structure of the proposed cooling scheme with a U‐type inlet/outlet manifold is optimized by the response surface methodology and the Cuckoo search algorithm. In comparison with the initial design, the maximum temperature of the optimized design is reduced by 0.97°C and the temperature difference is reduced by up to 36.4% (1.23°C) with the pressure drop increased merely by 1.28 Pa. A reverse layered lateral series cooling scheme with U/Z type flow pattern is proposed for the forced‐air cooling BTMS. It provides good cooling performance with uniform temperature distribution. The response surface methodology and the Cuckoo search algorithm are employed to optimize the proposed cooling scheme. The maximum temperature of the optimized design is reduced by 0.97°C and the temperature difference is reduced by up to 36.4% with the pressure drop increased merely by 1.28 Pa.