Research Progress on Thermal Runaway Combustion Characteristics of Power Lithiumion Batteries

doi:10.3901/JME.2019.20.017

Abstract

Abstract: Frequent electric vehicle fire accidents have caused increasing emphasis on the combustion characteristics of power lithium batteries and fire. In the three-stage division of the combustion evolution of the power lithium battery, the first is that the external abuse condition triggers the self-acceleration process of the chemical reaction of the internal material of the battery. As the chemical reaction exothermic accumulation and the produced gas volume increase, the battery is under a certain pressure and the safety valve opens and the battery enters the venting process. Finally, the released gas is ignited by various ignition sources. In fact, in the thermal runaway combustion process of the battery, these three stages are not completely split, which is a complicated juxtaposition phenomenon. Compared with traditional fires, the combustion of power lithium batteries has its particularity. For example, the controlled conditions of combustion involve the heat released by the chemical reaction, the heat generated by the short circuit of the battery power, the combustible component in the battery material system, and the composition of the flammable gas in the battery venting. The evolution of the thermal runaway of the battery, components and concentrations of the venting gas, combustion characteristics of total heat release and heat release rate of battery cells and battery modules, mass loss ratio during the combustion process, fire spread characteristics of the battery pack, extinguishing agent screening principle etc. are reviewed in this paper. On these basis, the shortcomings in the existing research, possible improvement measures and key research points not covered by the research are summarized.

Key words: power lithiumion battery, thermal runaway, vent, combustion, fire strategy

CLC Number:

ZHANG Yajun, WANG Hewu, FENG Xuning, OUYANG Minggao, ZHOU Anjian, SU Ling, YANG Huiqian. Research Progress on Thermal Runaway Combustion Characteristics of Power Lithiumion Batteries[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2019, 55(20): 17-27.

References

[1] 胡晓松,唐小林. 电动车辆锂离子动力电池建模方法综述[J]. 机械工程学报,2017,53(16):20-31. HU Xiaosong, TANG Xiaolin. Review of modeling techniques for lithium-ion traction batteries in electric vehicles[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2017, 53(16):20-31.
[2] DOUGHTY D,ROTH E P. A general discussion of Li-ion battery safety[J]. Electrochem Soc. Interface(USA),2012,21(2):29-36.
[3] 李哲,韩雪冰,卢兰光,等. 动力型磷酸铁锂离子电池的温度特性[J]. 机械工程学报,2011,47(18):115-120. LI Zhe,HAN Xuebing, LU Languang, et al. Temperature characteristics of power LiFePO₄ batteries[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering,2011,47(18):115-120.
[4] GOODENOUGH J B,KIM Y. Challenges for rechargeable Li batteries[J]. Chemistry of Materials,2010,22(3):587-603.
[5] FENG X,OUYANG M G,LIU X,et al.,Thermal runaway mechanism of lithium ion battery for electric vehicles:A review[J]. Energy Storage Materials,2017,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2017.05.013
[6] FENG X,SUN J,OUYANG M G,et al.,Characterization of penetration induced thermal runaway propagation process within a large format lithium ion battery module[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2015,275(2):61-73.
[7] WANG Q S,PING P,ZHAO X J,et al. Thermal runaway caused fire and explosion of lithium ion battery[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2012,208(2):10-24.
[8] FENG X,OUYANG M,LIU X,et al. Thermal runaway mechanism of lithium ion battery for electric vehicles:A review[J]. Energy Storage Materials,2018,10(2):46-67.
[9] PING P,WANG Q,HUANG P,et al. Thermal behaviour analysis of lithium-ion battery at elevated temperature using deconvolution method[J]. Applied Energy,2014,129(2):61-73.
[10] ROTH E P,DOUGHTY D H. Thermal abuse performance of high-power 18650 Li-ion cells[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2004,128(2):308-318.
[11] 姜晓萍,左翔,蔡烽,等. 六氟磷酸锂的热分解动力学研究[J]. 电源技术,2012(4):467-469. JIANG Xiaoping,ZUO Xiang,CAI Feng,et al. Study on thermal decomposition kinetics of lithium hexafluorophosphate[J]. Chinese Journal of Power Sources,2012(4):467-469.
[12] YANG H,ZHUANG G V,ROSS P N. Thermal stability of LiPF₆ salt and Li-ion battery electrolytes containing LiPF₆[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2006,161(1):573-582.
[13] CRAFTS C C,DOUGHTY D H,ROTH E P. Advanced technology development program for lithium-ion batteries:Thermal abuse performance of 18650 li-ion cells[R]. The United States of America:Sandia National Laboratories,2004.
[14] ANDERSSON A M,HERSTEDT M,BISHOP A G,et al.. The influence of lithium salt on the interfacial reactions controlling the thermal stability of graphite anodes[J]. Electrochimica Acta,2002,47(12):1885-1898.
[15] KONG W,LI H,HUANG X,et al. Gas evolution behaviors for several cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2005,142(1-2):285-291.
[16] JOHANNES M D,SWIDER-LYONS K,LOVE C T. Oxygen character in the density of states as an indicator of the stability of Li-ion battery cathode materials[J]. Solid State Ionics,2016,286(8):3-8.
[17] WANG Q,PING P,ZHAO X,et al. Thermal runaway caused fire and explosion of lithium ion battery[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2012,208(2):10-24.
[18] GOLUBKOV A W,FUCHS D,WAGNER J,et al. Thermal-runaway experiments on consumer Li-ion batteries with metal-oxide and olivin-type cathodes[J]. RSC Adv.,2014,4(7):3633-3642.
[19] SOMANDEPALLI V,MARR K,HORN Q. Quantification of combustion hazards of thermal Runaway failures in lithium-ion batteries[J]. SAE International Journal of Alternative Powertrains,2014,3(1):98-104.
[20] MALONEY T. Lithium battery thermal runaway vent gas analysis[R]. Virginia:National Technical Information Service(NTIS),2016.
[21] SOMANDEPALLI V,BITEAU H. Cone calorimetry as a tool for thermal hazard assessment of li-ion cells[J]. SAE International Journal of Alternative Powertrains,2014,3(2):222-233.
[22] KOCH S,FILL A,BIRKE K P. Comprehensive gas analysis on large scale automotive lithium-ion cells in thermal runaway[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2018,398(1):6-12.
[23] LEI B,ZHAO W,ZIEBERT C,et al. Experimental analysis of thermal runaway in 18650 cylindrical Li-ion cells using an accelerating rate calorimeter[J]. Batteries,3(2):14.
[24] LARSSON F,ANDERSSON P,BLOMQVIST P,et al. Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium-ion battery fires[J]. Sci. Rep.,2017:10018.
[25] LARSSON F. Lithium-ion battery safety -assessment by abuse testing,fluoride gas emissions and fire propagation[D]. Göteborg,Sweden:Chalmers University of Technology,2017.
[26] YAYATHI S,WALKER W,DOUGHTY D,et al. Energy distributions exhibited during thermal runaway of commercial lithium ion batteries used for human spaceflight applications[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2016(329):197-206.
[27] FENG X,LU L,OUYANG M,et al. A 3D thermal runaway propagation model for a large format lithium ion battery module[J]. Energy,2016,115:194-208.
[28] LYON R E,WALTERS R N. Energetics of lithium ion battery failure[J]. Journal of Hazardous Materials,2016,318(1):64-72.
[29] LIU X,WU Z,STOLIAROV S I,et al. Heat release during thermally-induced failure of a lithium ion battery:Impact of cathode composition[J]. Fire Safety Journal,2016,85:10-22.
[30] LYON R E. Energetics of lithium ion battery failure[J]. Journal of Hazardous Materials,2016,318(1):64-72.
[31] RIBIÈRE P,GRUGEON S,MORCRETTE M,et al. Investigation on the fire-induced hazards of Li-ion battery cells by fire calorimetry[J]. Energy Environ. Sci.,2012,5(1):5271-5280.
[32] CHEN M,ZHOU D,CHEN X,et al. Investigation on the thermal hazards of 18650 lithium ion batteries by fire calorimeter[J]. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry,2015,122(2):755-763.
[33] PING P,WANG Q S,HUANG P F,et al. Study of the fire behavior of high-energy lithium-ion batteries with full-scale burning test[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2015,285:80-89.
[34] FU Y,LU S,LI K,et al. An experimental study on burning behaviors of 18650 lithium ion batteries using a cone calorimeter[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2015,(273):216-222.
[35] HUANG P,WANG Q,LI K,et al. The combustion behavior of large scale lithium titanate battery[J]. Scientific Reports,2015(5):7788-7791.
[36] LARSSON F,ANDERSSON P,MELLANDER B E. Lithium-ion battery aspects on fires in electrified vehicles on the basis of experimental abuse tests. batteries-basel[J/OL]. 2016,2(2). http://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/2/2/9/pdf. DOI:10.3390/batteries2020009.
[37] CHEN M,LIU J,HE Y,et al. Study of the fire hazards of lithium-ion batteries at different pressures[J]. Applied Thermal Engineering,2017,125(10):61-74.
[38] CHEN M,YUEN R,WANG J. An experimental study about the effect of arrangement on the fire behaviors of lithium-ion batteries[J]. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry,2017,129(1):181-188.
[39] SUN J,LI J G,ZHOU T,et al. Toxicity,a serious concern of thermal runaway from commercial Li-ion battery[J]. Nano Energy,2016,27(3):313-319.
[40] LECOCQ A,ESHETU G G,GRUGEON S,et al. Scenario-based prediction of Li-ion batteries fire-induced toxicity[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2016(316):197-206.
[41] LARSSON F,ANDERSSON P,BLOMQVIST P,et al. Characteristics of lithium-ion batteries during fire tests[J]. Journal of Power Sources,2014,271(4):14-20.
[42] TAKAHASHI M,TAKEUCHI M,MAEDA K,et al. Comparison of fires in lithium-ion battery behicles and gasoline vehicles[J]. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars-Electronic and Electrical Systems,2014,7(1):213-220.
[43] STURK D,HOFFMANN L,AHLBERG T A. Fire tests on e-vehicle battery cells and packs[J]. Traffic Injury Prevention,2015,16:S159-S164.
[44] EGELHAAF M,WOLPERT K D,LANGE D T,et al. Fire fighting of li-ion traction batteries[J]. SAE Int. J. Alt. Power.,2013,2(1):37-48.
[45] AMANDINE L M B,BENJAMIN T,GUY M. Comparison of the fire consequences of an electric vehicle and an internal combustion engine vehicle[C]//International Conference on Fires in Vehicles-FIVE 2012,Sep 2012,Chicago,United States,2012.
[46] BLUM A,LONG R T. Full-scale fire tests of electric drive vehicle batteries[J]. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars-Mechanical Systems,2015,8(2):565-572.