A practical method of developing cooling control strategy for thermal runaway propagation prevention in lithium ion battery modules

Abstract

The thermal runway (TR) has become one of the most concerned issues during the utilization of lithium ion batteries (LIBs), and the hazard behaviors can be different under various abusive conditions. However, existing mitigation methods are developed under only specific conditions, and the universality is doubtable. In this study, a novel research idea has been proposed, where the underlying characteristics of the TR propagation have been identified under various abusive conditions. And further discussion on the mitigation strategy has also been conducted. The results show that even though the temperature curve has been distorted during TR propagation, the critical temperature data, namely the TR onset temperature and the maximum temperature, still exhibit acceptable deviations. Accordingly, the maximum heat transfer rate and heat accumulation can be determined, which are identified as the underlying parameters to characterize the TR propagation. Based on the identified underlying parameters, key factors relating to the hazard mitigation system, for instance activation/termination time, cooling power, and total heat absorption, have been demonstrated. Finally, a practical method of developing the cooling control strategy is proposed. Based on the proposed research idea, it is believed to improve the applicability of the developed mitigation method.