Automotive underbody diffuser for battery thermal management Online publication date: Thu, 27-Aug-2015
by Rocky Khasow; Martin Agelin-Chaab
International Journal of Process Systems Engineering (IJPSE), Vol. 3, No. 1/2/3, 2015
Abstract: This paper investigates underbody aero-thermal management of a hypothetical battery pack. Underbody diffusers are specifically designed to channel air for cooling a surface of the battery pack without significantly increasing aerodynamic drag. Numerical simulations are conducted to study the cooling and drag effects of the new diffusers on the battery pack. The numerical results show that the temperature of the battery pack upstream decreased whereas that at the downstream slightly increased compared to the no diffuser case, in addition to having a larger range of temperatures. There are smaller hot spots in comparison to the no diffuser case, which limit the number of cells in a battery that would be affected by the temperature increase, thus preventing damage. With further studies and improved diffuser design, the present work has the potential to offer better alternative locations for installing EV and HEV battery packs for improved air cooling.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Process Systems Engineering (IJPSE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook