A Simplified Analysis to Predict the Fire Hazard of Primary Lithium Battery

Mingyi Chen,Ouyang Dongxu,Zhi Wang,Jiahao Liu,Shuchao Cao,Jian Wang

doi:10.3390/app8112329

Abstract

To better understand the fire risk of primary lithium batteries, the combustion properties of different numbers of primary lithium batteries were investigated experimentally in this work. Based on the t2 fire principle and total heat release results from the experiments, a simplified analysis was developed to predict the fire hazard, and especially the heat release rate, of primary lithium batteries. By comparing the experiment and simulation results, the simulation line agrees well with the heat release rate curve based on the oxygen consumption measurements of a single primary lithium battery. When multiple batteries are burned, each battery ignites at different times throughout the process. The ignition time difference parameter is introduced into the simulation to achieve similar results as during multiple batteries combustion. These simulation curves conform well to the experimental curves, demonstrating that this heat release rate simulation analysis is suitable for application in batteries fires.

Highlights

Lithium batteries are widely used in electronic products as they are highly energy-dense electrochemical cells
In 1980, Huggett introduced a method to estimate heat release rate (HRR) based on oxygen consumption measurements [36]
The most difficult problem for simulation was that the ignition time of each battery in the bundle is random

Summary

Introduction

Lithium batteries are widely used in electronic products as they are highly energy-dense electrochemical cells. There are two kinds of lithium battery: the primary lithium battery, called a lithium metal battery, and the secondary lithium battery, called a lithium-ion battery. Primary lithium batteries have lithium metal or lithium compounds as the anode. The lithium-ion battery is a member of the rechargeable battery family. Primary lithium batteries are commonly used in portable consumer electronic devices and in electric vehicles, ranging from full sized vehicles to radio controlled toys. The most widely used primary lithium battery is the lithium/manganese dioxide (MnO2 ) couple. Lithium-ion batteries are common in consumer electronics

Methods

Results

Conclusion