mentor graphics recently published a white paper entitled, “mechanical analysis: thermal management of an ev battery packing using 1-d and 3-d cfd,” which describes using 1-d and 3-d computational fluid dynamics (cfd) for virtual prototyping of ev battery packaging to better understand the thermal management of the system.

mentor graphics explained how to simulate thermal management of
ev battery packing. (mentor graphics floefd)

“first, the cooling pack of the battery must be designed in a way that allows excess heat to be removed quickly and efficiently from the battery cells,” the white paper explained. “and second, the thermal control system for the battery must be able to warm the battery to an efficient temperature level in a reasonable amount of time for good performance.”

it is not always obvious whether or not a 1-d or a 3-d simulation would be best to get the data points that engineers are looking for and mentor shared tips on the difference between the two cfd models.

“where small changes to a single part of a system are crucial or there are significant flow variations in multiple dimensions, 3d cfd is the obvious choice because of its ability to analyze complex geometry with extreme accuracy,” the paper noted.

it added, “when the design reaches beyond the component level into a large system of interconnected components by pipes, ducts and hoses, the computation requirements can become too high and simulations take too long to fit within development schedules. when this occurs, 1d cfd is a good choice.”

the paper runs through simulations of ev battery packing using both 1-d and 3-d simulation tools and through several specific data points, including warming up from a cold start, cooling at peak conditions, and pump performance versus battery load. 

it concluded, “these examples show how advanced 1d and 3d cfd simulation techniques provided by flomaster and floefd can be used for the complex design of the thermal management system for electrical-vehicle battery packs…with the use of both floefd and flomaster, engineers have access to the right tool at the right time for optimal design efficiency.”

read the full white paper at http://s3.mentor.com/public_documents/whitepaper/resources/mentorpaper_78668.pdf.