Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have the lead as the most used power source for electric vehicles and grid storage systems, and a battery thermal management system (BTMS) can ensure the efficient and safe operation of lithium-ion batteries. Epoxy resin board (ERB) offers a wide range of applications in LIBs due to its significant advantages such as high dielectric strength, electrical insulation, good mechanical strength, and stiffness. This study proposes an air-cooled battery module comprised of sixteen prismatic batteries incorporating an ERB layer between the batteries. To compare the performance of the ERB-based air-cooling system, two other air-cooling structures are also assessed in this study. Three-dimensional numerical models for the three cases are established in this paper, and the heat dissipation processes of the battery module under varying discharge rates (1C, 2C, and 5C) are simulated and analyzed to comprehensively evaluate the performance of the different cooling systems. Comparative simulations reveal that incorporating ERB into the battery assembly significantly reduces battery surface temperatures and promotes temperature uniformity across individual batteries and the entire pack at various discharge rates. Notably, under 5C discharge conditions, the ERB-based thermal management system achieves a maximum battery surface temperature increase of 16 °C and a maximum temperature difference of 8 °C between batteries. Additionally, this paper also analyzes the impact of battery arrangement on air-cooling system performance. Therefore, further optimization of the structural design or the integration of supplementary cooling media might be necessary for such demanding conditions.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used as power sources for electric vehicles due to their various advantages, including high energy density and low self-discharge rate. However, the safety challenges associated with LIB thermal runaway (TR) still need to be addressed. In the present study, the effects of the battery SOC value and coolant flow rate on the TR behavior in a LIB pack are comprehensively investigated. The battery pack consists of 10 18650-type LIBs applied with the serpentine channel liquid-cooling thermal management system (TMS). The TR tests for various SOC values (50%, 75% and 100%) and coolant flow rates (0 L/h, 32 L/h, 64 L/h and 96 L/h) are analyzed. The retarding effect of the TMS on TR propagation is found to be correlated with both the coolant flow rate and the battery SOC value, and a larger coolant flow rate and lower SOC generally result in fewer TR batteries. Furthermore, the TR propagation rate, evaluated by the time interval of TR occurrence between the adjacent batteries, increases with the battery SOC. The battery pack with 100% SOC shows more rapid TR propagation, which can be completed in just a few seconds, in contrast to several minutes for 50% and 75% SOC cases. In addition, the impact of the battery SOC and coolant flow rate on the maximum temperature of the TR battery is also examined, and no determined association is observed between them. However, it is found that the upstream batteries (closer to the external heater) show a slightly higher maximum temperature than the downstream ones, indicating a weak association between the TR battery maximum temperature and the external heating duration or the battery temperature at which the TR starts to take place.