Simulation of a premixed explosion of gas vented during Li-ion battery failure

Abstract

Several fires and explosions caused by Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been reported in the last decades. If a LIB is thermally, electrically, or mechanically abused, it can cause a catastrophic failure of the LIB. Flammable gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane can be released from the LIB during a catastrophic failure. When these gases mix with air, they form a combustible mixture, which may cause explosions and fires. This study presents a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method for simulating an explosion from gases vented from failing LIBs using only open-source software. The code mech2Foam was used to generate the required CFD input parameters for a Li-ion vent gas composition, which was then used in several CFD simulations of an explosion in a 1-m rectangular channel. The simulation results were compared with experimental results as a validation of the method and the CFD model. The CFD simulation results agreed well with the experimentally measured flame front position and the maximum explosion pressure. However, discrepancies between experiments and simulations were observed in the temporal evolution of the pressure and flame front velocity.