Experimental study on the suppression effect of different coolants on battery thermal runaway

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2024.0975

Abstract

Abstract:

The choice of coolants is particularly crucial, and immersion cooling systems offer outstanding advantages in thermal management technology, with high potential and application value. To investigate the actual performance of different coolants and their effectiveness in suppressing battery thermal runaway, this study conducted thermal runaway experiments on 86 Ah lithium iron phosphate cells immersed in six coolants: thermal oil (L-QD350), 10# transformer oil, vegetable oil (DS3 natural ester), silicone oil (50 cSt), ethylene glycol stock solution (99.9%, polyester grade), and electronic fluoride liquid (Novec-7200). The performance of these coolants was compared based on experimental phenomena, voltage and temperature curves, time-domain and thermal evaluation indicators of each link, and the influence of vegetable oil immersion level on thermal runaway suppression. The experimental results demonstrate that all coolants produced significant white smoke during the thermal runaway process. However, white smoke ceased after prolonged immersion in vegetable oil, whereas thermal oil and electronic fluoride liquid exhibited spontaneous ignition during thermal runaway. Vegetable oil and ethylene glycol stock solutions performed well in various time-domain and thermal evaluation indicators, whereas silicone oil performed poorly in time-domain indicators, and electronic fluoride liquid performed poorly in thermal indicators. In summary, vegetable oil and ethylene glycol stock solutions outperformed the other coolants in terms of cooling efficiency and thermal runaway suppression, whereas silicone oil and electronic fluoride liquid exhibited relatively weaker performance. In addition, the amount of vegetable oil added has a significant impact on thermal runaway. The higher the immersion amount, the slower the development of thermal runaway, and the lower the temperature on the battery surface, the less severe the thermal runaway. However, the optimal amount of coolants should be determined based on the application conditions, cost, and specific coolant parameters. These findings provide effective data support for battery thermal management systems and provide a reference for selecting coolants for immersion cooling systems.

Key words: thermal runaway, coolants, thermal management, pressure relief valve, immersion cooling

CLC Number:

TM 911

Wenqiang FAN, Zinan SHI, Daiming YANG, Huishi LIANG, Ye CHEN. Experimental study on the suppression effect of different coolants on battery thermal runaway[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2025, 14(4): 1554-1563.

Figures/Tables 11

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