Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-09606-x

Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems

(MEVBS)
Asif Afzal1 · A. D. Mohammed Samee1 · R. K. Abdul Razak1 · M. K. Ramis1

Received: 18 September 2019 / Accepted: 19 March 2020

© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2020

Abstract
The operating temperature of Li-ion batteries used in modern electric vehicles should be maintained within an allowable
range to avoid thermal runaway and degradation. One of the most challenging issues faced by the automobile industry is
providing proper thermal management mechanisms to avert thermal runaways. In this work, the effect of operating param-
eters like volumetric heat generation (S̅q), conduction–convection parameter (ζcc), Reynolds number (Re), and Aspect ratio
(Ar) on the thermal behavior of a prismatic battery cell is investigated numerically considering a realistic conjugate condi-
tion at the battery cell and coolant interface. Air is selected as the coolant that carries the heat generated uniformly in the
modern battery cell during charging or discharging from its surface. For variations in S̅q from 0.1 to 1.0, ζcc from 0.06 to
0.1, Re from 250 to 2000, and Ar from 10 to 35, the temperature distribution, as well as maximum temperature variation in
the battery cell, is determined. Further, the occurrence of the critical threshold of temperature and the necessary change in
these operating parameters to avoid thermal runaway is proposed. Finally, the effect of flow Reynolds number and channel
spacing on average Pressure and average Nusselt number is also discussed in this study. From the exhaustive analysis on the
effect of considered parameters, it is observed that apart from heat generation parameter S̅q, other parameters like ζcc and Re
play a prominent role in reducing the maximum temperature of the battery cell. However, Ar has a negligible impact on the
thermal performance of battery cell irrespective of any value of other parameters considered in this study. It was interesting
to find that for Re> 1000, the impact on temperature profiles of the battery cell is minimal, while the other parameters were
either kept constant or varying, putting a limit to higher values of Re.

Keywords Battery systems · Thermal runaways · Temperature · Reynolds number · Heat generation · Critical threshold
List of symbols q‴ Volumetric heat generation W m−3
Ar Aspect ratio of a battery cell S̅q Dimensionless volumetric heat generation
C Constant of Ar Pr Prandtl number
L Length of battery cell m Re Reynolds number
K Thermal conductivity W m−1 K−1 T Temperature K
lo Length of extra outlet fluid domain m To Maximum allowable temperature of battery cell K
li Length of extra fluid domain m T̅ Non-dimensional temperature
h Convective heat transfer coefficient W m−2 K−1 u Velocity along the axial direction m s−1
Lo Dimensionless length of extra outlet fluid domain U Non-dimensional velocity along the axial direction
Li Dimensionless length of extra inlet fluid domain u∞ Free stream velocity ­ms−1
Nu Nusselt number v Velocity along the transverse direction m s−1
p Pressure ­Nm−2
P Non-dimensional pressure
* Asif Afzal V Non-dimensional velocity along the transverse
asif.afzal86@gmail.com direction
* M. K. Ramis w Half-width m
ramismk@pace.edu.in W Non-dimensional width
1 x Axial direction
Department of Mechanical Engineering, P. A. College
of Engineering (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological X Non-dimensional axial direction
University Belagavi), Mangaluru 574153, India

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

y Transverse direction
Y Non-dimensional transverse direction
Greek symbols
α Thermal diffusivity of fluid ­m2 s
ν Kinematic viscosity of fluid ­m2 s
ρ Density of fluid kg m−3
ζcc Conduction–convection parameter
Subscripts
avg Average
c Center
f Fluid domain
m Mean
s Solid domain (battery cell)
∞ Free stream
Introduction
Automobile and electronic device manufacturers have
expended several million dollars to protect the ecosystem
by developing electric vehicles that have become more envi-
ronmental friendly [1]. The modern electric vehicles use
lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells due to their high energy
storage and discharge capacity [2, 3]. Thermal management
of Li-ion batteries generating heat needs special attention
for their better performance, high efficiency, long life, and
safer operation [4–6]. If the heat generated in the battery
cell is not removed suitably, the temperature rise triggers
further heat-generating exothermic reactions. This results
in increased battery cell temperature, which causes a ther-
mal runaway situation [7, 8]. Sometimes the thermal runa-
way situation may not arrive, but battery capacity degrades
undoubtedly by continuously operating at high temperatures,
i.e., above 50 °C [9]. Therefore, the heat generated in the
battery cell should be adequately removed, adopting an
effective cooling mechanism [10–12].
The increasing demand for Li-ion batteries in electronic
devices and electric vehicles has enticed many researchers
to investigate the problems pertinent to overheating, which
generally occurs due to poor thermal management systems
[13]. Ample work is available in the literature, which exclu-
sively talks about the methods of controlling the menace
thermal behavior within the battery system. Wang et al. [8]
performed experimental and numerical analysis on the ther-
mal runaway, thermal models, essential reactions, battery
hazards, etc., and they provided safety methods and safety
devices for thermal runaway prevention. Samba et al. [14]
conducted a transient simulation study on Li-ion pouch bat-
tery. The thermal behavior of the battery pouch was analyzed
in natural and forced cooling. Yu et al. [15] did a thermal
analysis on a battery pack with two-directional airflow man-
agement using experimental and simulation approaches.
13
A. Afzal et al.
They obtained uniform temperature distribution and reduced
maximum temperature. Xie et al. [16] utilized a combined
thermal management system for a Li-ion battery pack to
show experimentally as well as numerically the difference
between the air cooling and PCM liquid cooling. The pro-
posed method in this study for better temperature control
and to avoid the thermal runaway of batteries is found to be
effective when used in coupled condition rather than using
independently.
Yang et al. [17] investigated the thermal performance of
a 2D battery pack generating different energy rates energy,
cooled with an axial flow of air. The results predicted that
the radial interval and air flux within the battery pack pro-
foundly influence the temperature uniformity. Yang et al.
[18] presented a numerical simulation for improving the
thermal performance of a cylindrical lithium-ion battery
cell pack cooled with forced flow of air. In this analysis, a
comparison was made between the inline and staggered cell
arrangement and suggested the best way of arranging the
battery cell, which can minimize the temperature rise, maxi-
mize the power efficiency, and better temperature uniformity.
Chen et al. [19] compared four different methods, i.e., (1)
direct air cooling, (2) direct (3) liquid cooling, (4) indirect
liquid cooling, and (4) fin cooling of a battery pack hav-
ing Li-ion cells. The best and optimal method is suggested
in this three-dimensional numerical simulation in terms of
controlling the maximum range of temperature within the
battery pack, temperature uniformity, and power efficiency.
Ciccino et al. [20] tested a Li-ion battery pack analyti-
cally and numerically in which they found out how the tem-
perature distribution within the battery pack changes with
respect to energy discharged from the battery, which is gen-
erally used in a lightweight commercial electric vehicle. The
obtained results show that the proposed solution is suitable
for temperature distribution evaluation. Basu et al. [21] sug-
gested a correlation for predicting the temperature of each
cell in a three-dimensional packed battery module, which
can eliminate the usage of temperature sensors to a greater
extent. The study also concludes that the conductivity of a
conduction element, which acts as a screen between liquid
coolant and battery cell, plays a very prime role in efficient
heat transfer. Bai et al. [22] used a numerical approach
to investigate the effective cooling scheme for a pouch of
lithium-ion battery with two-dimensional non-uniform heat
source. The results of the study show that better tempera-
ture uniformity within the battery cell can be achieved with
the combined effect of PCM (phase change material)/liquid
cooling methods. The research also shows that the amount of
heat generated can be removed effectively with liquid cool-
ing from the battery cell. Qian et al. [23] numerically inves-
tigated a three-dimensional Li-ion battery pack attached with
mini channels cold plates for providing cooling effects dur-
ing the charging and discharging process. The study shows
Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems (MEVBS)
how factors like coolant mass flow rate, flow direction, chan-
nel width, and a number of channels influence the thermal
characteristics of a battery pack. The results of this research
elucidate which design model is useful for better and poor
uniformity of temperature within the battery cells. Chalise
et al. [24] investigated a conjugate heat transfer problem
pertinent to the liquid cooling of the Li-ion battery pack
with an analytical approach. Different fluid and flow veloc-
ity were considered to determine the efficient performance
of the battery pack. They used a systematic method to solve
the boundary layer equation and performed external flow
analysis by keeping the mirror cell plate far away such that
its effect if not felt. An effective thermal management system
of a lithium-ion battery pack with liquid cooling, air cooling
and PCM methods or integrated method which exclusively
talks about the temperature uniformity, temperature distribu-
tion, optimal performance, and battery power, is discussed
in detail [25–33].
Focusing on steady-state thermal analysis of Li-ion packs,
Richter et al. [32] studied the aging of batteries and vari-
ation in their thermal conductivity for temperature range
18 °C to 55 °C. Temperature profiles were analyzed for
different discharging rates. At high temperatures, the cell
life cycle reduced while the thermal conductivity remained
unchanged. Panchal et al. [25] developed neural network
model for temperature distribution analysis and validated
the results with experimental work. Average surface tem-
perature for many boundary conditions was studied. In their
next study, Panchal et al. [34] used experimental method
and Ansys Fluent for velocity and temperature distribution
analysis placing a minichannel plate on battery. At 1C and
2C discharge and temperature 5 °C to 25 °C, the simulation
was carried out. Novel approaches like addition of plenum
as a secondary inlet in cylindrical batteries to avoid the prob-
lem of coolant recirculation was done by Shahid and Chaab
[35]; lumped electrical thermal model at steady state was
adopted by Benjamin et al. [36] to restrict the number of
parameters on thermal management study of battery. Yang
et al. [37] used liquid metal for efficient heat removal from
battery in which the pumping power was also lower. Saw
et al. [38] conducted numerical and experimental study for
battery thermal management using mist cooling, and com-
parison was made with dry air cooling. Mist outperformed
air in providing uniform temperature distribution. Mayyas
et al. [39] developed power split hybrid power train in con-
nection with current and voltage of battery. Temporal and
spatial temperature profiles were studied using this model.
Wang et al. [40] also modeled the battery as a network of
thermal fluid estimating the surface and core temperature.
Accurate resolution of temperature distribution and captured
the cells interaction.
Most of the research work carried out related to bat-
tery thermal behavior is either focused on temperature
distribution, or maximum temperature variations in a bat-
tery cell, or flow arrangements for efficient cooling, or
battery aging and degradation. These studies were mainly
experimental or were simulation-based which were carried
out using some commercial software like Ansys Fluent. In
reality, the heat generated by the battery cell is carried by
the coolant flowing past it. Hence, the coupled heat trans-
fer condition at the interface of the cell and coolant affects
the thermal behavior of batteries. Except for Chalise et al.
[24], it is very clear from the above literature provided that
none of the studies was considering a realistic conjugate
coupled heat transfer mode. Chalise et al. [24] examined
the boundary layer equation and solved it analytically. Their
study was limited to external flow and for a limited flow
velocity without considering the parametric effect. With
this motivation, a detailed numerical analysis is performed
considering the parametric impact on the realistic conjugate
thermal behavior of prismatic battery cell cooled by air. The
parameters considered are volumetric heat generation (S̅q),
conduction–convection parameter (ζcc), Reynolds number
(Re), and Aspect ratio (Ar). Accordingly, an indigenous
finite-volume method (FVM)-based code was developed to
perform the analysis. Conjugate condition at the cell and
fluid interface was considered in which the continuity of
temperature and heat flux occurs. Temperature distribution
along the transverse direction and maximum temperature
variation with these parameters were also analyzed. Particu-
lar focus was made on critical temperature and change in
parameters required at which thermal runaway in battery
cells can be avoided.
Battery module
Li-ion batteries have proved to offer good energy storage
(> 240 W h kg−1) and discharge capability (> 104 W). The
main source of heat generation in a battery is due to Ohmic
heating and entropy change. Ohmic heating is an irreversible
process, whereas entropy changes caused by electrochemi-
cal reactions are a reversible heat generation process [41].
Reversible heat generation dominates at a low rate, and irre-
versible heat generation dominates at a high rate. The C-rate
gives the rate at which the current is discharged from the
battery. Depending upon the different C-rates, the volumetric
heat generation in a battery cell varies from 6.855 × 10e3
(standard US06) to 2 × 10e6 W m−3 (uphill condition) [1].
The heat generation in battery affects the safety of the device
and the performance of the battery. During the operation
of charging and discharging in batteries, temperature rises,
which has to be properly removed and monitored [2]. Elec-
trical energy being converted to chemical energy or the
reverse of this produces heat. With huge advancements in
the Li-ion battery system, the new generation cells provide
13

sufficient heat generation at uniform rates [1]. If the heat
generation process during the battery operation leads to
exceeding the critical threshold of temperature rise, then the
thermal runaway situation arises [42]. Therefore, this study
investigates the thermal behavior and critical threshold tem-
perature of battery cells generating uniform volumetric heat.
The present-day electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid elec-
tric vehicles (HEVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
(PHEVs) vary primarily in their necessary specifications
like the number of cells, charge/discharge capacity, exterior
dimensions, material, mass, etc. Generally, a battery cell
module consists of a stack of prismatic battery cells and
coolant flowing between them to carry away the heat gener-
ated by the cells during charging and discharging, as shown
in Fig. 1a, b. The coolant (air in this case) enters the lower
manifold and flows in the space between the cells, extracts
the heat from the surface of the cell, and leaves from the
upper manifold. The coolant can be recirculated by lower-
ing its temperature by passing it through a heat exchanger.
Pump/fan is used for the continuous circulation of air. Each
battery cell arranged in-line is considered as a prismatic
cell of rectangular cross section dissipating heat flux to the
surrounding.
Mathematical formulation
The physical model shown as a schematic view in Fig. 1 is
further made plain by considering a symmetric model of
the battery cell, as shown in Fig. 2a. The physical domain
considered here is a set of battery cells with air as coolant
flowing past it. The heat generation is considered to be
Baery cells /
Baery power
Coolant passage
Fan/pump
Coolant passage
Baery cells Coolant flowing
(a) Compact battery module with a stack of battery cells and coolant
passages
Fig. 1  Schematic view of the arrangement of battery cells with air circulation fan and heat generation in batteries
13
A. Afzal et al.
uniform in accordance with the cell zone [1]. The fluid
flow velocity ranges from 0.01 m s−1 to as high as 12 m s−1
[43, 44]. The fluid operating temperature ranges from
− 30 °C to 200 °C, and the cell dimensions vary between
0.1 and 30 mm in thickness, 50 mm to 550 mm in length,
and 20 mm to 200 mm in width as available in the litera-
ture [1, 7, 14, 25, 32, 45]. Based on some of these facts,
the range of the parameter is decided, and the laminar
flow regime is considered. Steady-state thermal analysis
is significantly reported in the literature in which the heat
generated during constant charging and discharging con-
tinuously for a longer period of time is constant [24, 25,
27, 32, 46]. To reduce the computational time cost, only
half of the physical domain is considered (Fig. 2b) for
analysis with very few assumptions. It is assumed that
the temperature of the air flowing from the cell stack in
the outlet flow domain, i.e., in the upper manifold is same
as the temperature of the air at the symmetric boundary
of the fluid domain considered; hence, 𝜕Tf ∕𝜕ys = 0 . The
heat lost from the trailing edge of the cell is negligible as
the top of the prismatic cell consists of cathode and anode
current collector [15].
The physical problem of thermal management in bat-
tery cells under consideration shown in Fig. 1 is reduced
to a two-dimensional computational domain, as shown in
Fig. 2. Axis of symmetry is considered for the solid and fluid
domain to perform the computational analysis. The temper-
ature distribution in the cell is solved by the steady-state
conduction equation with heat generation q‴ W m−3. The
temperature distribution in the fluid domain is solved using
the steady-state energy equation considering the continuity
of heat flux and the same temperature at the interface of the
surrounding coolant
surrounding coolant
Heat flux to the
Heat flux to the
Heat generaon in the
flowing
flowing
baery
(b) Heat flux from the
battery cell surface
Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems (MEVBS)

Fig. 2  The symmetric battery

(prismatic cell) and coolant flow
domain considered for computa-
Coolant flowing Extended outlet domain lo
tional analysis

Physical domain under

considera on
Baery cell

Baery cell

Baery cell

Baery cell
L

Ws Wf

X
Coolant flowing Extended intlet domain Y li

solid and fluid bodies. The energy conservation equation of represent energy and momentum equations in non-dimen-
the battery cell at a steady state is given by Eq. 1. sional form

ks ∇2 T + q��� = 0 (1) X = 0; 0 ≤ Ys ≤ 1,T̄ s = 0

Ys = 0; 0 ≤ X ≤ 1,
𝜕 T̄ s
To solve the energy conservation of the fluid domain =0
Ys = 1; 0 ≤ X ≤ 1, T̄ s = T̄ f
using a SIMPLE algorithm, the continuity and momentum 𝜕X
(9)
equations in 2-D considered are given below in Eqs. 2–4,
X = 1; 0 ≤ Ys ≤ 1,
respectively. 𝜕 T̄ s
=0
𝜕Ys
∇u = 0 (2)
The extended inlet and outlet domains of the coolant as
1
(u∇u) = − ∇p + 𝜇∇2 u (3) shown in Fig. 2 are represented by length lo and li, respec-
𝜌 tively. The purpose of considering these extra domain
regions is to capture the formation of vortices when the fluid
u∇T = 𝛼∇2 T (4) interacts with bottom portion of the battery cell. The ther-
mal and flow outflow field are located in the extended outlet
Using the reference fluid flow properties like u∞ , T∞ domain at the downstream of the cell trailing edge. This is
and geometric variables like L, ws , wf , the above equations considered to enforce physically meaningful supplementary
are non-dimensionalized. The non-dimensional form of conditions.
energy, continuity and momentum equations are given below
− Li ≤ X ≤ 0 and L ≤ X ≤ Lo
(Eqs. 5–8) Yf = 1;
𝜕 T̄ f
= 0,
𝜕U
= 0, V=0
𝜕Yf 𝜕Yf

Yf = 1;0 ≤ X ≤ L,
𝜕 T̄ s
2 T̄
𝜕2 𝜕Tf 1 𝜕Ts
2
+ C 2s + CS̄ q = 0 (5) 𝜕Yf
=
𝜁cc 𝜕Ys
, U = 0, V=0
𝜕X 𝜕 Ys
Yf = 1 + W f ; − Li ≤ X ≤ (L + Lo ),
𝜕 T̄ f 𝜕U
= 0, V = 0, =0
𝜕Yf 𝜕Yf
∇U = 0 (6) X = −Li ;1 ≤ Yf ≤ (1 + W f ), T̄ s = 0, U = 1, V=0

X = L + Lo ;1 ≤ Yf ≤ (1 + W f ),
𝜕 T̄ s 𝜕U
1 2 = 0, = 0, V=0
U∇U = −∇P + ∇U (7) 𝜕X 𝜕Yf
Re (10)
The non-dimensional terms considered for the above non-
1 dimensional equations and boundary conditions 5–10 are
U∇Tf = ∇2 Tf (8)
Re Pr as follows:
Equations 9 and 10 are the boundary conditions applied The non-dimensional term appearing in Eq. 5 is given by
for battery cell and coolant domain, respectively, so as to

13
 A. Afzal et al.

L q��� w2s on available literature considering the dimensional values

C = 4Ar2 , Ar = , S̄ q = , mentioned in Table 1. Even though the non-dimensional range
2ws ks (To − T∞ )
obtained is very wide as mentioned in Table 1, but selected
T − T∞ x y
T= , X = , and Ys = s range for these non-dimensional parameters is decided such
T 0 − T∞ L ws
as S̅q varying from 0.1 to 1.0, Re from 250 to 2000, ζcc from
The non-dimensional terms in continuity and momentum 0.06 to 0.1, Ar from 10 to 30, and W̅f from 0.06 to 0.14.
Eqs. 6–8 are defined as

u v p u∞ L 𝜈
U=
u∞
, V=
u∞
, P=
𝜌u2∞
, Re =
𝜈
, Pr =
𝛼 Numerical solution

The non-dimensional terms appearing in boundary condi- The dimensionless form of continuity Eq. 6 and momentum
tions (Equation 10) are defined as Eq. 7 are to be coupled; hence, they must be solved simul-
taneously. The conduction Eq. 5 and energy Eq. 8 are com-
li lo yf wf kf [ ws ]
Li = , Lo = , Yf = 1 + , Wf = , 𝜁cc = bined as the conjugate condition (continuity of heat flux and
L L L L ks L temperature) at the interface of solid and fluid body should
(11) be satisfied and hence are also solved together after obtain-
According to the Newton’s law of cooling, the heat flux ing the velocity and pressure components till the error is
at the interface is given by, below ­10e−6. The main issue in solving the continuity and
momentum equation is the presence of pressure term P. To
𝜕T ||
−k = h(Ty=ws − Tf,m ) counter this problem staggered grid method in the finite vol-
𝜕Y ||y=ws
ume method (FVM)-based SIMPLE algorithm procedure was
where T̅f, m is the mean temperature of the fluid domain and adopted to solve these equations. The second-order accurate
T̅s is the cell surface temperature. Using appropriate dimen- central differencing scheme was employed to discretize the
sionless parameters, the local ­Nux is obtained, which is inte- equations. The U* and V* velocity components arrived in
grated over the cell surface length to get ­Nuavg. the pressure correction procedure are solved by the line-by-
line Gauss–Seidel iteration method and Thomas algorithm
1 𝜕T || considering the boundary conditions mentioned earlier and
Nux = − | guessed pressure P*. The pressure correction P′ equation
(T Y=W − T f,m ) 𝜕Y ||Y=Ws
s
(12) obtained employing the continuity equation is solved by the
𝜕T || successive over-relaxation (SOR) method using the calcu-
1

∫0 (T
1
Nuavg = − | dX
− T f,m ) 𝜕Y ||Y=Ws lated U* and V* velocity from the previous computations.
The corrected pressure P′ calculated to satisfy the continuity
Y=W s

It is important to note that in this work, the thermal per-
formance characteristics of the conjugate problem associated
with battery cell cooled by air (Pr = 0.7) are carried for five
non-dimensional parameters obtained from above mathemati-
cal modeling. Those five parameters are: volumetric heat gen-
eration (S̅q), conduction–convection parameter (ζcc), Reynolds
number (Re), Aspect ratio (Ar), and spacing between the bat-
tery cells (W̅f). The range of these parameters is decided based
equation is further used to correct the guessed U*, V*, and
P*. At this stage, the temperature T̄ S from the 2-D conduction
equation with source term S̄ q and the energy equation for T̄ f
are solved simultaneously using the obtained corrected U, V,
and P values from the previous computations. Line-by-line
Gauss–Seidel iteration method and the Thomas algorithm
are used for solving the T̄ of the solid and fluid domain. The
U, V ,and P values are used as a guessed value for the next

Table 1  Parameters used for numerical analysis and their non-dimensional range obtained
Parameter Dimensional range from literature References Non-dimensional
range obtained

Volumetric heat generation 406 W m−3 to 2 × 106 W m−3 (uphill condition) [1, 47, 48] S̅q = 0.001 to 1.5
Thermal conductivity of battery cell 3.4 W m−1 K−1 to 240 W m−1 K−1 [32, 49, 50] ζcc = 0.042 to
38.55
Fluid velocities 0.001 to 10 ms−1 [24, 53] Re = 15 to 133500
Dimensions of battery cell Length: 10 mm to 521.1 mm, Width: 52.9 mm to 167 mm [48–50] Ar = 3 to 30

13
Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems (MEVBS)
iteration with some under relaxation and so on until the error
in the continuity equation and T̄ is < 10e−6.
FVM code validation
The FVM code developed exclusively to solve conjugate
problems for different conditions is numerically experi-
mented for grid independence to capture the sharp tem-
perature gradients at the interface. A grid size of 42 × 82,
62 × 122, 82 × 162 for the fluid domain, and grid size of
82 × 82, 82 × 122, and 122 × 122 for the cell domain were
applied to obtain the numerical data for analysis. The
obtained T̄ values were found to overlap at these three differ-
ent grid sizes; however, the figure is not added for the sake
of brevity. In view of computational time taken by the code
and accuracy of the solution, the grid size of 62 × 122 for the
fluid domain and 82 × 122 for the cell domain were finalized.
The numerical results presented in this paper are obtained
using indigenous code which can take care of various bound-
ary conditions, by choice of appropriate input variables.
Therefore, the code is validated initially with the great
benchmark lid-driven cavity problem of Ghia et al. [52] for
the U and V velocity profiles. Figure 3a shows that the U
and V velocity at the centerline of the cavity at Reynolds
number (Re) = 100 and are in complete agreement with
those of Ghia et al. [52]. Figure 3b shows the velocity con-
tour at Re = 1000, having the primary vortex and the center
and secondary vortices at the bottom corners. Secondly, the
temperature distribution was validated with the work avail-
able in literature close to the present work. Jahangeer et al.
[53] and Ramis and Jilani [54] analyzed the thermal behav-
ior of nuclear fuel element considering the external flow of
fluid over the uniformly and non-uniformly heat-generating
plates. The existing FVM code is also found to match with
their results in both the cases of heat generation at the axial
center of the fuel element (Fig. 4). Note that the flow was
Fig. 3  Validation of the present 1 1
FVM code with Ghia et al. [52]
at a Re = 100 and b Re = 1000 0.8 U velocity (Ghia et al. [1982])
FVM code
0.6
V velocity (Ghia et al. [1982])
0.4 FVM code
0.2
0
0 0.2
– 0.2
– 0.4
(a) U and V velocity variation at the centerline of
considered to be external flow with Re = 2500, S̅q = 0.5 and
0.75, Ar = 15, and ζcc = 0.35.
Results and discussions
In batteries, if the maximum temperature in the battery cell
exceeds the critical threshold temperature value, then it leads
to severe damage of the battery module [42, 55]. This maxi-
mum temperature again depends on the working parameters
and has to be analyzed carefully. According to the definition
of dimensionless temperature T̅ of solid from Eq. 11, if T
= To where To is the maximum allowable temperature of the
battery cell, then T̅ of solid becomes equal to unity, which
should not be crossed. Hence considering some of the above
listed facts the present work is intended to analyze in detail
the effect of these parameters on the thermal management of
prismatic battery cells and the effect of same on the varia-
tion of maximum temperature. The cell dimensions, thermal
conductivity, and flow velocity also varies largely depending
on the working processes. In this study, the flow of air as
coolant is considered to be laminar, being circulated by the
fan continuously. In all the cases, the fluid width (spacing
between the cells) W ̄ f is kept constant at 0.1 unless otherwise
stated. Also, the effect of W ̄ f on pressure distribution and
pressure drop is studied at the end of this section. Effect on
average Nusselt number (Nuavg) for different Re and ζcc is
also investigated.
Effect of different parameters on transverse
temperature distribution in battery cell
The dimensionless temperature T̅s for dynamic parameters
like S̅q, Re, ζcc, and Ar during the working process of Li-ion
battery prismatic cell is discussed as follows, one by one.
Figure 5 shows the change in T̅s away from the center of
0.8
0.6
Y
0.4
0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0.2
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
X
(b) velocity contour showing vortex at the
cavity center and bottom corners
13
 A. Afzal et al.

0.9 the cell surface is considerable at higher S̅q and almost neg-
0.8 ligible at lower S̅q. Hence, it is noteworthy that for lower S̅q,
0.7
for a standalone cell, lumped thermal model can be assumed
for analysis, as made by Huang et al. [31] and few others
0.6
[48, 51, 56].
0.5 Another essential fact to be noted from Fig. 5 is that,
0.4 Jahangeer et al. [2007]
as we increase S̅q, the maximum temperature at the axial
T ̅s

0.3 Ramis & Jilani [2008] center reaches unity and, on the further increase, crosses this
Ramis & Jilani [2008]
FVM code limit. This condition is known as crossing the critical thresh-
0.2
FVM code old of temperature at which thermal runaway occurs as the
0.1 FVM code
maximum allowable limit To is crossed. At this higher tem-
0 peratures, oxygen gets released from the cathode and some-
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Ys times may get reacted with electrolyte, which is flammable.
This leads to various damages like leakage of electrolyte,
Fig. 4  Validation of present work with the work of Jahangeer et al.
poor performance, explosions, power fade, self-discharge,
[53] and Ramis and Jilani [54] capacity fade, etc. [3, 7, 57]. Hence, it is very important
to keep the volumetric heat generation rate well below this
limit, which is possible by avoiding overcharging and over-
1.4 Sq̅ = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 0.10 discharging, choosing proper cooling mechanism, hybrid
S̅q mode operation at full load conditions, etc. [13]. Inappro-
1.2
priate cooling mechanism, if the flow velocity, i.e., Re is
1 increased, it results in a reduced temperature, but this again
demands increased fan power for the fast circulation of air.
0.8
The effect of Re on temperature is provided ahead, which
T̅s

0.6 will offer a better understanding.

0.4
0.2
0 Re = 750, and Ar = 10. Figure 6 shows clearly that ζcc has
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Ys
Fig. 5  Variation of temperature away from the center of battery at
X = 0.5 for different heat generations (S̅q)
the cell (for different Y locations) taken at the axial center
(X = 0.5) position. The parameters are kept constant to Re
= 750, ζcc = 0.06, and Ar at 10, while the heat generation
parameter is varied from 0.1 to 1.0 with which temperature
also increases significantly. However, the increase in temper-
ature at the axial center is more prominent compared to the
temperature at the surface of the cell. This makes clear that
the peak temperature occurs at the axial location of the cell,
with a maximum value at the trailing edge. Similar tempera-
ture profiles in the battery cell along the transverse direction
for different C-rates are reported by Richter et al. [32] and
Dincer et al. [1]. Note that these studies were related to bat-
tery cell aging and phase change material and not on the
conjugate model, as in this case. The temperature difference
ΔT̅s observed at the axial center is 1.22 relative to ΔT̅s = 0.75
at the cell surface which due to the heat carried by the air at
the interface. It is also seen that the temperature difference
between the peak value at the center and minimum value at
The change in temperature T̅s for increasing conduction-
convection parameter ζcc from 0.06 to 0.1 is shown in Fig. 6
when the other parameters were kept constant at S̅q = 0.5,
1 a major impact on the reduction in temperature of the cell.
We can see that as the value of ζcc is slightly increased from
0.06 to 0.07, a sharp difference in temperature is observed.
Unlike in the case of the effect of S̅q shown in Fig. 5, the
difference in temperature is found to be uniform throughout
the cell thickness for all values of ζcc. However, as the value
of ζcc is increased, the difference in temperature reduces
monotonically. This shows that with an increase in ζcc, there
is an increase in thermal conductivity of the coolant flowing
past the cell where the other terms S̅q, Ar, and Re are held
constant.
At this moment, an important aspect to be thought is that
if the value of ζcc is further increased, we may get a negligi-
ble difference in temperature difference, putting a limit on
the maximum value of ζcc. This is caused due to the fixed
thermal conductivity of the battery cell, and indeed there
will be a limit on the heat dissipation rate from the cell sur-
face past which it cannot be enhanced. Indeed, it can also
be deduced that decreasing ζcc will cause a thermal runaway
situation. It should be noted that irrespective of the increase
in ζcc, if the heat generation is increased due to overcharg-
ing, then surely the peak temperature exceeds the allow-
able threshold value. It is notably observed that a specific
range has to be chosen for ζcc to avoid the thermal runaway

13
Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems (MEVBS)

Fig. 6  For different ζcc and Ar, 0.7

Effect of
0.7
change in temperature away different Ar
0.65
from the center of the battery at 0.65
X = 0.5 0.6

0.55 0.6 Ar
0.5
0.55

T̅s

T̅s
0.45
ζcc = 0.06
0.4 0.5
= 0.07
0.35 = 0.08
= 0.09 0.45 Ar = 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
0.3 = 0.10 Effect of ζcc
0.25 0.4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Ys

0.95 rate caused due to higher convection effects at higher Re.

Re = 250
0.85 = 500 Similar to effect of ζcc, the trend followed is seen to be same
= 750 for different Re. At higher Re, the temperature difference is
0.75 = 1000
= 1250 very less as the heat dissipation from the cell surface is lim-
0.65
= 1500
= 1750
ited. The same effect is also seen in work of Mahamud and
= 2000 Park [58] and Tong et al. [26]. Therefore, further increase
T ̅s

0.55
in Re will simply demand in higher fan power for fast air
0.45 circulation. The peak temperature at the X = 0.5 is within
Re
0.35 the allowable limit of unity; however, further reduction in
flow velocity will lead to critical condition. From Fig. 7, an
0.25
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 important remark is that the behavior of temperature dis-
Ys tribution is with respect to when S̅q, ζcc, and Ar are con-
stant at 0.5, 0.06, and 10, respectively. Any increase in S̅q
Fig. 7  Effect of Re on temperature variation away from the center of or decrease in ζcc will cause a jump in peak temperature
battery at X = 0.5 causing thermal runaway situation as seen in Figs. 5 and 6.

Maximum and critical temperature analysis

situation when the other parameters are kept fixed. Hence
the value of ζcc gives an insight into the selection of proper
coolant at various heat generation loads.
The effect of aspect ratio Ar on the temperature profiles
is shown in the inset of the same Fig. 6. It can be seen that
when the severely effecting parameters like S̅q = 0.5, ζcc
= 0.06, and Re = 750, as discussed in preceding results,
are fixed the effect of Ar on the temperature difference is
minor. The temperature variation for an increase in Ar is
found to be the same throughout the cell width. Thus, it can
be concluded that the temperature distribution in the cell
is independent of Ar while the other parameters are fixed.
Figure 7 depicts the effect of Re on the variation of trans-
verse temperature profiles at X = 0.5, while S̅q, ζcc, and Ar
are constant to 0.5, 0.06, and 10, respectively. It is clearly
noticeable that the temperature profiles in Figs. 6 and 7 are
of the same nature, and also the temperature reduction is
monotonous for an increase in Re from the center of the
cell to its surface. Reduction in temperature is very sharp at
lower Re, whereas it is very less at higher Re. The decrease
in temperature distribution is by increased heat dissipation
for variations in Re, S̅q, ζcc and Ar
The measurement of critical temperature variations, along
with a change in operating parameters, is of prime impor-
tance to prevent the situation of thermal runaways in bat-
teries. A large number of studies reported on battery cell
performance generally perform the study of thermal runaway
by investigating the maximum temperature rise in the cell
under different circumstances. In this study, the effect of
operating parameters in some ranges is considered for the
examination of maximum temperature and critical threshold
(T̅s> 1) in a battery cell.
Effect of Re for various S̅q, ζcc and Ar
Figure 8 shows how the maximum temperature decreases
with an increase in Re irrespective of S̅q while ζcc and Ar
are fixed to 0.06 and 10, respectively. The reduction in maxi-
mum temperature is very prominent when the Re 250 to
750 and later the reduction remains monotonous. A huge
alteration in maximum temperature along the increase in Re

13
 A. Afzal et al.

2.5
Critical threshold be considered to be safe, and upon increase in Re will bring
larger values of S̅q within allowable limit. However, higher
S̅q = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5,
2
0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 0.10 values of S̅q are always not preferable which calls for higher
Sq̅
Re leading to greater maintenance cost. The maximum tem-
1.5 perature location is found to be at the top of cell middle
portion and nearer to the negative electrode, and the mini-
T̅max

1
0.5
0
250 500 750 1000 1250 1500
Re
Fig. 8  Maximum temperature in battery cell varying with Re and S̅q
from 250 to 2000 with an increase in S̅q can be observed.
Initially, at Re = 250, a large portion of cell temperature
remains above the critical threshold, whereas a large portion
of cell temperature for Re = 2000 is within the allowable
limit. Due to the increase in fast heat removal from the sur-
face of cell-associated with higher Re, the cell temperature
comes under a safe portion.
Another point to be witnessed is that as Re increases the
maximum temperature gradient reduces for entire range
of S̅q. For lower values of S̅q and lower Re, the maximum
temperature becomes flatter much earlier compared to the
maximum temperature at higher values of S̅q and Re. Hence
in order to keep the battery module safer, higher Re would
be preferred but demands extra fan power for air circulation.
The difference in maximum temperature ΔT̅max at Re
= 750 and Re = 250 is significantly higher than the ΔT̅max
at Re = 750 and Re = 2000. A similar nature in a variation
of T̅max for an increase in airflow velocity is reported by
Rao et al. [27] and Tong et al. [26]. Therefore, Re≤ 750
is not preferable for a significant portion of S̅ q seems
to be highly dangerous as the maximum temperature is
immensely beyond the safe limit. Re ≥ 750 and S̅q≤ 0.6 can
mum temperature location is always at the bottom of the cell
where the coolant comes in the first contact. The same nature
of temperature location is found by Bai et al. [22].
The reduction in maximum temperature with increasing
1750 2000 ζcc (Fig. 9) is found to be of a similar trend as in Fig. 8.
Again, the effect of Re at lower values of 250 and 500 on
maximum temperature is found to be above and close to the
critical value. For Re ≥ 750, the effect is to reduce maximum
temperature smoothly till Re = 2000. With the increase in
ζcc, a further decrease in maximum temperature is seen, and
when ζcc ≥ 0.08 below critical temperature is obtained for
all values of Re. The decline in maximum temperature with
an increase in ζcc is attributed to the fact that there is a pos-
sible increase in thermal conductivity of the coolant flowing
past the cell surface. Nevertheless, with an increase in ζcc,
the reduction in maximum temperature, which is uniform
for all Re, is noticed to be reducing. A decrease in ζcc at
lower Re will undoubtedly lead to an increase in maximum
temperature, causing thermal runaway harshly. Thus ζcc for
fixed S̅q = 0.5, Ar = 10, and the entire range of considered
Re is found to reduce the maximum temperature except at
Re = 250. This puts a limit on ζcc at lower Re. For full load
discharging or overcharging situations where S̅q> 0.5 and
Ar> 10, the effect of ζcc on maximum temperature has to be
analyzed. This will be discussed in the forthcoming section.
In Fig. 9, along the secondary axis, the effect of differ-
ent Ar is also plotted for Re ≥ 250. The magnified view of
maximum temperature for increasing Ar is shown on the
right side of Fig. 9. Like in the case of temperature distribu-
tion shown in Fig. 6, the effect on maximum temperature is
similar in this case. However, due to the nature of Re, it will

Fig. 9  Effect of ζcc and Ar on 1.2 1.2

maximum temperature for vary- Critical threshold
ing airflow Re at S̅q = 0.5 and 1.1
1.1
Ar = 10 Effect of
1 different Ar
Effect of ζcc 1 Ar
0.9
T̅max

0.8 0.9
T̅max

0.7
0.8
0.6
0.7 Ar = 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
0.5
ζcc = 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09 0.10
0.4 0.6
250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000
Re

13
Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems (MEVBS)

undoubtedly reduce the maximum temperature as in all cases 1.7

Ar
described in the preceding results. 1.5

1.3
Effect of S̅q for various ζcc and Ar at fixed Re = 750 1.1 Ar = 10
= 15
0.9

T̅max
The effect of heat generation parameter S̅q on maximum = 20
= 25
0.7
temperature along with increasing ζcc for each S̅q is shown in = 30
Fig. 10. It is very clear from Fig. 10 and the previous inter- 0.5
Critical threshold
pretations that there is an increase in maximum tempera- 0.3
ture with each S̅q and decreases with ζcc. Linearly increasing 0.1
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
maximum temperature with S̅q is impacted by ζcc at different
Sq̅
rates. As ζcc is reduced from 0.06 to 0.10, the reduction in
maximum temperature also reduces. Like in effect of ζcc
Fig. 11  Negligible effect of Ar on maximum temperature with
(Figs. 6 and 9), it is understood that the decrease in maxi- increasing S̅q
mum temperature reduces and further becomes minimal,
putting a restriction on higher values of ζcc. One remark-
able point to be noticed is that by increasing ζcc from 0.06 Effect of ζcc for different Ar at fixed S̅q = 0.5 and Re = 750
to 0.10, the maximum temperature at S̅q = 0.6 to 0.8 comes
under the safe limit. However, a slight decrease in ζcc from For a change in ζ cc, the maximum temperature varia-
0.06 will abruptly increase the maximum temperature well tion for different Ar is depicted in Fig. 12. A very slight
beyond the critical threshold. increase in maximum temperature is noted initially at Ar
If a comparison is made between Figs. 8 and 10, it can = 10 to 15. There onwards, with the increase in Ar negli-
be inferred that when ζcc = 0.06 and S̅q = 0.8 to 1.0 for the gible effect on maximum temperature irrespective of any
entire range of Re, the maximum temperature crosses the value of ζcc, is seen. The fact behind this involves under-
critical limit which introduces severe thermal abuse circum- standing the nature of total heat generation in the battery
stances and other several harms. To avoid this severe prob- cell. Ar, according to the definition mentioned in Eq. 11,
lem if ζcc is increased with a slight increase in Re, it will is the ratio of cell dimension along the X-axis (L) to the
cause the maximum temperature to reduce below the critical Y-axis (w). Hence, irrespective of the increase in H or
limit. Till S̅q = 0.5, no change in ζcc is also allowable but decrease in w, the total heat generation per unit volume
turns out to be substantial after S̅q> 0.5, and there onwards remains constant, which causes the same temperature dis-
increase in both Re and ζcc will show there major impression tribution in the cell. Even though it is noticeable that for
on reducing the maximum temperature. On the other hand, all values of Ar, the effect of ζcc remains the same; ζcc
for any value of S̅q> 0.5 or S̅q< 0.5, no effect of Ar is seen should not be reduced below 0.06, which leads to a sharp
on reducing the maximum temperature as shown in Fig. 11. increase in maximum temperature irrespective of Ar and
Hence it is deduced from this description that except Ar, the other parameter remaining constant.
other parameters have a very crucial role in controlling and
avoiding the thermal runaway state.

1.7

1.5 0.85
Critical threshold
1.3
0.8 Ar
1.1
T̅max

0.9 0.75
ζcc = 0.06
T̅max

0.7 = 0.07
Ar = 10
= 0.08 0.7 = 15
0.5 = 0.09
= 20
= 0.10 = 25
0.3 0.65 = 30
0.1
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.6
S̅q 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1
ζcc

Fig. 10  Reduction in maximum temperature for different ζcc with

increasing S̅q Fig. 12  Maximum temperature with increasing ζcc and Ar

13
 A. Afzal et al.

39 4 W̅f = 0.06 45
Re = 0.08 ζcc

Average pressure drop (∆Pavg)

3.5
34 Re = 250 = 0.10
= 0.12 40
= 500 3
29 = 0.14
Average pressure (Pavg )

= 750 ζcc = 0.06

= 1000 2.5 = 0.07 35

Nuavg
24 = 1250 = 0.08
= 1500 2 = 0.09
Effect of ζcc
19 = 1750 = 0.10 30
1.5 on Nuavg
= 2000
14 1
25
0.5
9
W̅f
0 20
4 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Re
X

Fig. 14  Increase in average Nu and reduction in pressure drop with

Fig. 13  Pavg variation along the channel for different Re increase in flow Re

Effect of Re on pressure variations and average
Nusselt number (Nuavg)
The average pressure variations (Pavg) along the channel
length is shown in Fig. 13, varying Re from 250 to 2000.
For very low Re, the hydrodynamic boundary layer grows
slowly, and the boundary thickness penetrates deeper along
the channel width. This creates full development of flow will
be very close to the leading edge of the channel plates, i.e.,
cell surfaces. This causes a substantial drop in pressure from
the leading edge to the trailing edge. When the Re is slowly
increased, the full development of flow will move away from
the leading edge as the thickness of the boundary layer stays
closer to the surface, causing less drop in pressure. As seen
from Fig. 13, the pressure gradient at all locations is linear
for all Re. But, the pressure gradient is quite noticeable at Re
= 250 and becomes much flatter as Re is increased. None-
theless, the change in Pavg is highest between Re = 250 and
500 and sharply reduces from there onwards. For Re> 750,
the difference in Pavg remains very minimal. Hence, there is
no advantage in simply increasing Re in terms of pressure
drop. Also seen from the past observations that at higher
Re the difference in temperature obtained is very less. As
concluded earlier from Fig. 7 that simply increasing Re will
not be advantageous for reducing the temperature; combined
with this increasing Re will also cause no improvement in
pressure reduction. Henceforth, this puts a strict restriction
on the limit of higher Re.
Figure 14 provides the variation of average pressure
drop (Pavg) along with Re and for increasing fluid width
(W̅f) domain, i.e., the spacing between the battery cells.
W̅f is varied from 0.06 to 0.14, and for each fluid width,
Re is increased from 250 to 2000. It is quite apparent to
note that with increasing Re the Pavg reduces drastically
and a sharp drop in seen from Re = 250 to 750 for all W̅f,
which is also evident from previous Fig. 13, then onwards
remain smooth. Next, when W̅f is slowly increased in the
step of 0.01 a significant decrease in Pavg is obtained for
all Re monotonously. Later, for larger W̅f the decrease in
Pavg is seen to be reducing and becomes less significant.
From this, it can be deduced that there is an upper limit-
ing value of W̅f beyond which the pressure drop becomes
negligible and any increase in W̅f will result in large size
of the battery module. Another most important feature to
be understood is that for higher Re and even at smaller W̅f
the pressure drop looks very near to each other. Hence for
Re> 1250, the W̅f does not have much role in reducing the
pressure drop. From the same Fig. 14 along the secondary
axis, the improvement in average Nusselt number (Nuavg)
is plotted for increasing Re and ζcc. Nuavg was computed
from the below Eq. 12.
The Nuavg shown in Fig. 14 improved significantly for all
increasing Re as the convective heat transfer coefficient
improves with it. The effect on ­Nuavg for increasing ζcc is
also shown in the magnified view. As the effect of ζcc is
found to be negligible on Nuavg, the lines overlap. The fact
behind this is that the difference between interface tempera-
ture T̅Y=Ws and the fluid mean temperature T̅f, m reduces, and
|
also the derivative 𝜕T | decreases significantly with an
𝜕Y |
|Y=Ws
increase in ζcc which is evident from the previous results.
This reduction in both the quantities is in such a way that
their ratio remains constant locally. However, ­Nuavg can be
improved by decreasing the W̅f as the fluid mean temperature
decreases, driving more heat to transfer from the cell sur-
face. For larger W̅f, the effect of presence of another parallel
cell is not felt and the thermal boundary layer does not get
developed, and hence, the problem becomes like an external
flow situation in which the fluid mean temperature is low
less. Therefore, in either cases, i.e., pressure variations and
Nuavg, the effect of both Re and W̅f is significant. However,
increasing Re has its upper limit for larger W̅f whereas for
Nuavg investigation is required.

13
Thermal management of modern electric vehicle battery systems (MEVBS)
Conclusions
The thermal management of electric vehicle battery systems
is crucial in modern-day automobiles as they are progressively
used at a bigger scale globally. One of the most prominent
issues faced by the automobile and other industries where bat-
teries are used is in providing proper thermal management
mechanism to avoid thermal runaway. In this work with con-
jugate condition at solid–fluid interface, the effect of oper-
ating parameters like volumetric heat generation (S̅q), ther-
mal conductivity related term called conduction –convection
parameter (ζcc), airflow Reynolds number (Re), and battery
cell dimension ratio Ar on the thermal management of battery
cell is investigated in detail. Following are the few important
conclusions drawn from the present work:
• During the charging–discharging process, the volumet-
ric heat generated leads to an increase in temperature of
battery cell above the critical threshold value. Hence,
overcharging and over-discharging conditions should be
avoided.
• The ζcc has a significant impact on minimizing the tem-
perature of the battery cell, but its range has to be properly
chosen for a fixed value of S̅q and Re.
• The aspect ratio has negligible effect on the temperature
distribution within the battery cell irrespective of ζcc, S̅q
and Re considered in the present investigation.
• The temperature within the battery cell is greatly influ-
enced by fluid flow Re, but there exists an upper limiting
value of Re beyond which its impact on the temperature of
the battery cell is negligible.
• The fluid flow channel width has a severe impact on pres-
sure drop, and the chances of pressure drop are least when
the Reynolds number approaches a higher value.
• The most suitable and safe range of parameters like S̅q, ζcc,
and Re for battery cell, based on the present study, can be
decided appropriately to avoid the thermal runaway of the
battery module.
Funding No funding was received.
Availability of data and material Not applicable.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflicts of interest Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Code availability Not applicable.
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