Novel design of serpentine channel heat sinks with rectangular and triangular ribs and grooves for 25Ah Li-ion battery thermal management
John Sathvik Sakkera, Ravikiran Chintalapudi, Bridjesh Pappula, Seshibe Makgato
Abstract
Efficient thermal management is of utmost importance for high-capacity Li-Ion batteries employed in various applications, such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The study presents and evaluates novel designs of Serpentine Channel Heat Sinks (SCHS) that integrate rectangular ribs with both rectangular (RRRG) and triangular grooves (RRTG). The designs are particularly designed to be optimized for battery cooling, where it is crucial to maintain consistent thermal performance for safety and durability. The present study investigates the influence of groove geometry on fluid dynamics and heat transport, in contrast to traditional designs. Thermal performance, including surface heat transfer coefficients, Nusselt numbers, and pressure drops, is evaluated in this work using ANSYS Fluent models. As compared with smooth channel heat sink, the average increase in Nusselt number for RRRG and RRTG is 46 and 36, respectively. Whereas the average Nusselt number for RRRG is higher than RRTG by 15. The average pressure drops for RRRG and RRTG is higher than smooth channel heat sink by 56 and 35, respectively. The average thermal enhancement efficiency is higher for RRRG and RRTG by 22 % and 12 % than smooth channel heat sink. The results suggest that the geometric arrangement of rectangular ribs and grooves greatly enhances heat transfer by increasing turbulence and disrupting the thermal boundary layer. These findings provide significant insights for the advancement of battery cooling systems, contributing to the reduction of thermal runaway dangers and prolonging battery lifespan.