CFD-Driven Design of an Air Cooling System for Lithium-Ion Battery Packs in a Formula Student Car

In the high-performance environment of Formula Student Car racing, effective battery thermal management is crucial for safety, reliability, and performance. This work presents the design and validation of a lightweight, air-based Battery Cooling System (BCS) developed for a Formula Student vehicle. The system addresses the significant thermal loads generated by 528 Molicel P45B lithium-ion cells, arranged in a constrained U-shaped module layout. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the airflow geometry was optimized to deliver uniform cooling across all modules while minimizing aerodynamic drag. Simulations evaluated the system's performance under various ambient temperatures (25 °C and 30 °C) and airflow velocities (from 16 m/s to 18 m/s), identifying the impact of duct geometry, internal air guides, and airflow distribution on thermal regulation. Results showed that the system maintained most cell temperatures below the critical 60°C threshold under nominal conditions, with localized overheating only occurring under elevated ambient temperatures. Streamline and contour analyses confirmed the effectiveness of the airflow design and highlighted the need for future improvements in battery module geometry. Hence, this work demonstrates the feasibility of air cooling in high-performance applications and provides a validated framework for further refinement of electric vehicle battery thermal management systems.