CFD-Driven Design of an Air-Cooling System for Lithium-Ion Battery Packs in a Formula Student Car

Filipe Vaz, João Vasconcelos Silva, Vítor Monteiro and Francisco P. Brito ()
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Filipe Vaz: Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center (MEtRICs), Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
João Vasconcelos Silva: Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center (MEtRICs), Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Vítor Monteiro: ALGORITMI Research Centre/LASI, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Francisco P. Brito: Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center (MEtRICs), Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: In the high-performance environment of Formula Student Car racing, effective battery thermal management is crucial for safety, reliability, and performance. This work presents the design and validation of a lightweight, air-based Battery Cooling System (BCS) developed for a Formula Student vehicle. The system addresses the significant thermal loads generated by 528 Molicel P45B lithium-ion cells, arranged in a constrained U-shaped module layout. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the airflow geometry was optimized to deliver uniform cooling across all modules while minimizing aerodynamic drag. Simulations evaluated the system’s performance under various ambient temperatures (25 °C and 30 °C) and airflow velocities (from 16 m/s to 18 m/s), identifying the impact of duct geometry, internal air guides, and airflow distribution on thermal regulation. Results showed that, at nominal ambient temperature (25 °C), all monitored cells stayed below the 60 °C threshold required by FS regulations. At elevated ambient conditions (30 °C), regions above 60 °C appeared within the pack, revealing non-uniform cooling and reduced safety margin. These findings suggest that, while the system complies with current rules, additional design refinements are needed to enhance robustness under harsher conditions. Additionally, these results are specific to a Formula Student application under competition constraints and are not intended to be generalized to production EVs.

Keywords: battery; cooling; CFD simulation; formula student; electric car (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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