Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations
Li-ion batteries play a key role in energy storage and conversion in engineering systems such as electric vehicles and grid energy storage, with critical impact on electrification and storage of renewable energy. A key unresolved technological challenge in Li-ion batteries pertains to thermal runawa...
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/14/8229 |
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| author | Liwen Zhang Yi Chen Haiwen Ge Ankur Jain Peng Zhao |
| author_facet | Liwen Zhang Yi Chen Haiwen Ge Ankur Jain Peng Zhao |
| author_sort | Liwen Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Li-ion batteries play a key role in energy storage and conversion in engineering systems such as electric vehicles and grid energy storage, with critical impact on electrification and storage of renewable energy. A key unresolved technological challenge in Li-ion batteries pertains to thermal runaway initiation and propagation in a battery pack, which can lead to subsequent fire and explosion. Despite significant past work, there remains a critical need to understand how thermal runaway propagates in a pack. This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the effect of radiative heat transfer on thermal runaway propagation. Radiation can be important when a battery is exposed to adjacent heat and fire sources, as well as in thermal runaway propagation from one hot cell to another. A theoretical radiative heat transfer model based on view factor theory is developed. Calculations based on this model for a simple 2D cylinder-to-cylinder geometry are found to be in very good agreement with analytical expressions. Radiation-induced thermal runaway propagation between two cylindrical 18650 batteries is evaluated. It is shown that radiation may play a key role in thermal runaway propagation, depending strongly on the triggering temperature. It is found that radiative effects in thermal runaway propagation exhibit both nonlinear and non-monotonic characteristics. At high temperatures, thermal runaway is triggered rapidly in the region close to the battery surface, where the chemical reactions are strongly coupled, and radiation plays a dominant role. In contrast, at lower temperatures, thermal runaway is triggered much more slowly and towards the core of the cell, where some chemical reactions may be decoupled, and pre-runaway chemical heat release plays an increasingly important role. The results presented here suggest that radiation can either facilitate or mitigate thermal runaway. The net radiation heat flux has a cross-over instant, beyond which radiation starts to retard thermal runaway. Additionally, the blocking effect in radiative heat transfer between cells arranged in equal-spacing homogenous or orthogonal arrangements in a battery pack is investigated, along with the effect of the hot spot size. Results from this work help understand the role of radiation in thermal runaway propagation and provide useful insights into the thermal runaway control and design of safe Li-ion battery packs. |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:20:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-99063680301d4a039a0759dcec55af7c2023-11-18T18:10:07ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-07-011314822910.3390/app13148229Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric ConsiderationsLiwen Zhang0Yi Chen1Haiwen Ge2Ankur Jain3Peng Zhao4Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, UT Space Institute, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37388, USAMagna Powertrain of America, Inc., Troy, MI 48083, USAZhejiang Lab., Hangzhou 311121, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USADepartment of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, UT Space Institute, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37388, USALi-ion batteries play a key role in energy storage and conversion in engineering systems such as electric vehicles and grid energy storage, with critical impact on electrification and storage of renewable energy. A key unresolved technological challenge in Li-ion batteries pertains to thermal runaway initiation and propagation in a battery pack, which can lead to subsequent fire and explosion. Despite significant past work, there remains a critical need to understand how thermal runaway propagates in a pack. This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the effect of radiative heat transfer on thermal runaway propagation. Radiation can be important when a battery is exposed to adjacent heat and fire sources, as well as in thermal runaway propagation from one hot cell to another. A theoretical radiative heat transfer model based on view factor theory is developed. Calculations based on this model for a simple 2D cylinder-to-cylinder geometry are found to be in very good agreement with analytical expressions. Radiation-induced thermal runaway propagation between two cylindrical 18650 batteries is evaluated. It is shown that radiation may play a key role in thermal runaway propagation, depending strongly on the triggering temperature. It is found that radiative effects in thermal runaway propagation exhibit both nonlinear and non-monotonic characteristics. At high temperatures, thermal runaway is triggered rapidly in the region close to the battery surface, where the chemical reactions are strongly coupled, and radiation plays a dominant role. In contrast, at lower temperatures, thermal runaway is triggered much more slowly and towards the core of the cell, where some chemical reactions may be decoupled, and pre-runaway chemical heat release plays an increasingly important role. The results presented here suggest that radiation can either facilitate or mitigate thermal runaway. The net radiation heat flux has a cross-over instant, beyond which radiation starts to retard thermal runaway. Additionally, the blocking effect in radiative heat transfer between cells arranged in equal-spacing homogenous or orthogonal arrangements in a battery pack is investigated, along with the effect of the hot spot size. Results from this work help understand the role of radiation in thermal runaway propagation and provide useful insights into the thermal runaway control and design of safe Li-ion battery packs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/14/8229radiationthermal runawayLi-ion batteryenergy storagethermal runaway propagationview factor |
| spellingShingle | Liwen Zhang Yi Chen Haiwen Ge Ankur Jain Peng Zhao Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations Applied Sciences radiation thermal runaway Li-ion battery energy storage thermal runaway propagation view factor |
| title | Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations |
| title_full | Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations |
| title_fullStr | Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations |
| title_short | Radiation-Induced Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery Pack: Non-Monotonicity, Chemical Kinetics, and Geometric Considerations |
| title_sort | radiation induced thermal runaway propagation in a cylindrical li ion battery pack non monotonicity chemical kinetics and geometric considerations |
| topic | radiation thermal runaway Li-ion battery energy storage thermal runaway propagation view factor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/14/8229 |
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