Characterisation of thermal runaway behaviour of cylindrical lithium-ion battery using Accelerating Rate Calorimeter and oven heating

In this work, thermal runaway of lithium-ion battery was characterised under adiabatic and non-adiabatic conditions using Accelerating Rate Calorimeter (ARC) and oven respectively. Battery with higher electrical capacity demonstrated a higher tendency to experience thermal runaway with shorter induction time and resulted with a more energetic response, as indicated by higher maximum temperature rise. Oven tests at 190 degrees C were able to capture thermal runaway characteristics in batteries with 100% state-of-charge (SOC) only and resulted in a maximum temperature of 738-783 degrees C. Two batteries were more inclined to suffer thermal runaway as the induction time was reduced by 8.6% to 115.98 min, compared to 126.92 min for single cell. A further inclined by 15% to 107.72 min was recorded for two batteries with parallel electrical connection. Meanwhile, ARC was able to induce thermal runaway in 50% SOC battery and instigated exothermic thermal decomposition in 0% SOC battery due to the longer heating process. The maximum temperatures recorded from ARC tests were between 404 and 522 degrees C, lower than oven tests since some of the battery energy content was released slowly during the long self-heating period, leaving the battery with less energy for rapid release during thermal runaway.

Automated summary

This study characterized the thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries under different conditions using ARC and an oven. Batteries with higher capacity were more prone to thermal runaway with shorter induction times and higher maximum temperature rises. The oven tests only captured thermal runaway in batteries at 100% SOC, while ARC was able to induce thermal runaway in batteries at 50% SOC.