Numerical Study on Flow Field and Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Cooling Channel With Novel Ribs Based on Battery Thermal Management System

Abstract

Turbulent flow and heat transfer characteristics in a cooling channel with novel ribs have been numerically studied to improve thermal efficiency inside future electric vehicle batteries. In this study, the essential ratios of channel length, rib height, and rib pitch were all set to 6.67, 0.13, and 8.66, respectively. The realizable turbulent kinetic energy - epsilon model was used for the numerical simulation work under the Reynolds number varied from 10,000 to 50,000. The results showed that the heat transfer enhancement on a surface depended on the secondary flows due to the ribs. The enhancement of the wavy-winglet rib was approximately 9.8%−32% compared to other rib cases. Nevertheless, the improved heat transfer came at the expense of a higher pressure penalty. Above 29.7% of the friction factor for the wavy-winglet rib was obtained, compared to orthogonal ribs. In addition, the wavy-winglet rib gave the best thermal-hydraulic performance of the designs explored.

Acknowledgment

This research was significantly supported by the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Prince of Songkla University [Grant No. ENG6702002S].

Notes on contributors

Natthaporn Kaewchoothong

Natthaporn Kaewchoothong is a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. at the same university in 2019. He is interested in heat transfer enhancement inside the equipment, such as gas turbine blades, battery systems, and solar panels.

Chayut Nuntadusit

Chayut Nuntadusit is an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. at Osaka University, Japan, in 2004. His interests include heat transfer enhancement for jet impingement, jet flow control, and optical measurement.

Sarawut Gonsrang

Sarawut Gonsrang is a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. He received a Master of Materials Engineering at the same university in 2010. He is interested in the power management system for an electric vehicle with a hybrid energy storage system.

Montri Luengchavanon

Montri Luengchavanon is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam in 2015. His current interests include supercapacitors, battery, fuel cells, solar cells, and energy storage.

Surapong Chatpun

Surapong Chatpun is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego, USA 2010. His current interests are in cardiovascular engineering, biomechanics, image analysis, and numerical modeling.