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A Detailed Finite Element Model of Internal Short Circuit and Venting During Thermal Runaway in a 32650 Lithium-Ion Battery

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Abstract

The frequent accidents of power lithium-ion battery have become the major reason to hinder the development of electric vehicles. In this paper, the thermal runaway process for a 32650 battery is analyzed based on 300°C oven heating experiment in adiabatic rate calorimeter, the rise of temperature, the drop of voltage and the leakage of electrolyte are observed before exploding, which could be used as predictor variables for thermal runaway warning. A large number of smoke releases and diffuses after explosion, which could be utilized as a criterion for determining the explosion. And a lumped chemical reaction kinetics model coupled with three-dimensional heat transfer model is constructed for further discussion. The thermal runaway process of the battery could be accurately calculated by the coupled model. Thermal radiation plays a more important role in heat transfer than heat convection in the process of thermal runaway. The explosion happens when the temperature achieves around 230°C, and the active material mainly starts to decompose at this moment.

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Abbreviations

A x :

Reaction frequency factor (s−1)

Cp bat :

Heat capacity of the battery (J kg−1 K−1)

E a ,x :

Reaction activation energy (kJ mol−1)

h :

Heat-transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

H x :

Reaction heat (J kg−1)

I :

Short-circuit current (A)

j :

Dimensionless volume fraction of generated SEI

M bat :

Mass of this battery (kg)

m x :

Reaction order

Q dec :

Total heat generation of all abuse reactions (W m−3)

Q heat :

Heating power (W)

Q isc :

Heat generation during ISC (W)

R x :

Reaction rate of each abuse reaction (s−1)

R g :

Universal gas constant (J mol−1 K−1)

R bat :

Resistance of the battery (Ω)

R isc :

Equivalent ISC resistance (Ω)

S :

Area of battery surface (m2)

t :

Time (s)

T :

Absolute temperature (K)

T amb :

Ambient temperature (K)

∆T :

Rise of battery temperature (K)

v :

Voltage (V)

W x :

Mass fraction of reacting material (kg m−3)

z x :

Dimensionless volume fraction

ε :

Emissivity

ρ bat :

Density of battery (kg m−3)

σ :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant (W m−2 K−4)

λ bat :

Heat conductivity of battery (W m−1 K−1)

β :

Efficacy coefficient

0:

Initial or equilibrated state

sei :

Solid–electrolyte interface

e :

Electrolyte

pvdf :

Poly (vinylidene fluoride)

ne :

Negative electrode

pe :

Positive electrode

3D:

Three dimensional

ARC:

Adiabatic rate calorimeter

COMSOL:

Inc. Sweden computer-aided engineering software developer

ISC:

Internal short circuit

NE:

Negative electrode

PE:

Positive electrode

PVDF:

Poly (vinylidene fluoride)

SOC:

State of charge

SEI:

Solid–electrolyte interface

VSP2:

Vent sizing package 2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing Lab of New Energy Vehicles and Key Lab of Regional Air Pollution Control, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, People’s Republic of China

    Bing Wang, Changwei Ji, Shuofeng Wang & Shuai Pan

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  1. Bing Wang
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  2. Changwei Ji
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  3. Shuofeng Wang
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Correspondence to Changwei Ji.

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Wang, B., Ji, C., Wang, S. et al. A Detailed Finite Element Model of Internal Short Circuit and Venting During Thermal Runaway in a 32650 Lithium-Ion Battery. Fire Technol 56, 2525–2544 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-020-00978-y

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