Battery Pack Cooling Phenomenon at Varied Air Cooling Temperature Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
摘要
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, in collaboration with PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA), has carried out the research and development of Bus Listrik Merah Putih (BLiMP). This initiative aims to promote the widespread adoption of electric vehicles as public transport in Indonesia. The BLiMP electric bus relies on Lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) battery packs, each consisting of 34 modules housing 72 battery cells. Throughout the operation of the bus, the battery functions as the power source. Of paramount importance during battery operation is maintaining its temperature at an optimal level. Failure to do so could result in severe damage to both the battery and the bus occupants. The battery's temperature escalates due to heat generation, which could potentially trigger thermal runaway and consequent damage if temperatures experience significant spikes. The core purpose of the study was to emulate the cooling process of the BLiMP battery pack through the utilization of ANSYS FLUENT 2023 V2 software. This simulation was aimed at evaluating how the cooling air temperature influences the cooling system of the battery pack. The findings revealed that the ECM model produced results that closely mirrored actual data, with the incorporation of lower coolant temperatures leading to enhanced performance, as indicated by the contour results. Among the array of tested air-cooling temperatures, 16 °C seemed to be the most optimal for sustaining the battery pack's prime temperature.