Study on the thermal runaway characteristics of lithium-ion batteries and their thermal management under local overheating conditions

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.0067

Abstract

Abstract:

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used while sensitive to temperature. There is a risk of thermal runaway (TR) during practical work. Especially for large-capacity batteries under high-rate charge/discharge conditions, the risk of TR can be increased. A TR model is established to study the battery TR process caused by pole overheating. The heat propagation and TR characteristics of the LIBs were analyzed. The results show that the pole overheating caused by loose connecting plates can lead to serious heat accumulation problems under the battery tab. With the increased heating power, the TR trigger time is greatly advanced, and the peak temperature is increased. Compared to the bottom and front heating conditions, the temperature rise during the TR caused by pole heating is reduced by 17.2% and 10.9%, respectively, and the battery will reach a higher peak temperature in less time. In addition, it was found that the heat propagation characteristics of the battery under pole heating are similar to the overheating of the tab region caused by the high-rate charge/discharge of the LIBs. According to it, a liquid cooling plate with oblique channels was designed, and the heat dissipation effect of this cooling plate was analyzed. The results demonstrated that the oblique channel cooling plate can effectively suppress the TR of the LIBs and improve the temperature uniformity of the battery. Compared with straight channel cooling plate, the standard deviation of the battery temperature under oblique channel cooling plate can be further reduced by 18.9%. This work provides a reference for the LIBs risk assessment and the structural design of liquid cooling plates.

Key words: lithium-ion battery, thermal runaway, thermal management

CLC Number:

TM 912

Xiuwen TAN, Ling LI. Study on the thermal runaway characteristics of lithium-ion batteries and their thermal management under local overheating conditions[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2025, 14(9): 3521-3529.

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组件	密度/(kg/m³)	比热容/(J/kg·K)	导热系数/(W/m·K)
电芯	3846	1100	(1, 18, 18)
正极极耳	2700	900	238
负极极耳	8960	385	400
液冷板	2700	900	238
冷却剂	998.2	4182	0.6

参数	描述	值
A_sei	频率因子/(1/s)	1.667×10¹⁵
A_ne		2.5×10¹³
A_pe		2×10⁸
A_e		5.14×10²⁵

E_a,sei	反应活化能/(J/mol)	1.3508×10⁵
E_a,ne		1.3508×10⁵
E_a,pe		1.03×10⁵
E_a,e		2.74×10⁵

H_sei	反应热/(J/kg)	2.57×10⁵
H_ne		1.714×10⁶
H_pe		1.947×10⁵
H_e		6.2×10⁵

C_sei,0	无量纲化参数初始值(1)	0.15
C_ne,0		0.75
α₀		0.04
C_e,0		1

n_sei	反应级数(1)	1
n_ne		1
n_pe,1		1
n_pe,2		1
n_e		1

t_sei,0	SEI膜初始厚度(1)	0.033

W_sei	材料含量/(kg/m³)	406.9
W_ne		406.9
W_pe		610.4
W_e		1438

加热面积/cm²	文献实验/s	本文模拟/s	文献模拟误差	本文模拟误差
54	1378.3	1419.5	5.3%	3.0%
81	1339.2	1404.4	7.4%	4.9%
108	1662.0	1396.0	19.3%	16.0%

特征值	100 W	156 W	225 W
自产热温度T₁/℃	113.9	99.8	104.1
热失控温度T₂/℃	239.3	229.0	218.3
峰值温度T₃/℃	696.9	721.5	724.8
自产热时间t₁/s	1964.0	993.5	742.0
热失控时间t₂/s	5120.5	2111.0	1299.0
温度达峰时t₃/s	5143.0	2134.1	1321.6

过热位置	端子	底面	正面
自产热温度T₁/℃	163.5	146.9	151.8
触发温度T₂/℃	249.0	234.6	238.8
峰值温度T₃/℃	705.5	695.1	698.3
触发时间t_TR/s	1299	1232.7	1264
升温时间Δt₂₃/s	31.8	38.4	35.7