Abstract
In this work, a computational study was carried out to simulate crushing tests on lithium-ion vehicle battery modules. The tests were performed on commercial battery modules subject to wedge cutting at low speeds. Based on loading and boundary conditions in the tests, finite element (FE) models were developed using explicit FEA code LS-DYNA. The model predictions demonstrated a good agreement in terms of structural failure modes and force–displacement responses at both cell and module levels. The model was extended to study additional loading conditions such as indentation by a cylinder and a rectangular block. The effect of other module components such as the cover and cooling plates was analyzed, and the results have the potential for improving battery module safety design. Based on the detailed FE model, to reduce its computational cost, a simplified model was developed by representing the battery module with a homogeneous material law. Then, all three scenarios were simulated, and the results show that this simplified model can reasonably predict the short circuit initiation of the battery module.
Highlights
Lithium-ion battery (LIB) systems have been widely used as the main power source in new generation hybrid and electric vehicles [1]
The recent rise in the number of field incidents associated with commercial vehicle battery systems has led investigators and safety engineers to study the mechanical integrity of the LIB under abuse conditions
The short circuit occurs earliest in this case, since the force applied to the battery cell is highly concentrated on a very narrow area, which fracture
Summary
Lithium-ion battery (LIB) systems have been widely used as the main power source in new generation hybrid and electric vehicles [1]. A recent experimental study was conducted to investigate the global and local structural failure of a commercial vehicle battery module with pouch cells under different loading scenarios [12] Based on these tests, numerical models were developed in this current study to achieve four main goals: (1) simulate the module damage response under various crush loading conditions; (2) analyze energy absorption behavior under these conditions; (3) investigate the effect of other module components such as cover and cooling plates; and (4) simplify the module model so it can be integrated with the vehicle model at low computational cost with little loss of accuracy
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