Thermal runaway evaluation and thermal performance enhancement of a lithium-ion battery coupling cooling system and battery sub-models

This paper presents a novel simulation approach consisting of coupling fundamental and applicate aspects of Lithium-Ion battery simulations. A battery module representative of a complete battery pack is built using GT-AutoLion, consisting of a detailed electrochemical model and detailed cooling system modelled using the finite elements approach. The results show fresh and aged cylindrical cells submitted to different battery cooling flows. The cells are charged and discharged in high C(rates )to observe the performance of the proposed system in critical conditions. In addition, a battery thermal runaway code in Python is coupled to simulate the decomposition of the main components of the battery cell and their associated heat release during the battery operation. The concentration of the main species is tracked as well as the battery cells temperature distribution. The aged cells shown more probabilities of thermal runaway due to the increase of the internal resistance. However, it is possible to reduce the difference by increasing the cooling flow from 3 g/s to 50 g/s. When analysing the thermal runaway induced by a failure of a cell, the comparison shows that the mechanisms found in the bibliography shows a difference of 40 s in predicting the peak of heat release rate. Overall, the proposed framework confirms its capability of addressing the relevant phenomena during the battery operation, providing a way of improving the design phase from the battery cell to the battery pack.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a novel simulation approach for Lithium-Ion battery simulations, combining fundamental and applicate aspects. The results demonstrate that aged cells are more prone to thermal runaway, but the difference can be reduced by increasing cooling flow. Overall, the proposed framework proves its capability in addressing relevant phenomena during battery operation and improving the design phase from cell to pack.