A Review of Experimental and Numerical Studies of Lithium Ion Battery Fires

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are used extensively worldwide in a varied range of applications. However, LIBs present a considerable fire risk due to their flammable and frequently unstable components. This paper reviews experimental and numerical studies to understand parametric factors that have the greatest influence on the fire risks associated with LIBs. The LIB chemistry and the state of charge (SOC) are shown to have the greatest influence on the likelihood of a LIB transitioning into thermal runaway (TR) and releasing heats which can be cascaded to cause TR in adjacent cells. The magnitude of the heat release rate (HRR) is quantified to be used as a numerical model input parameter (source term). LIB chemistry, the SOC, and incident heat flux are proven to influence the magnitude of the HRR in all studies reviewed. Therefore, it may be conjectured that the most critical variables in addressing the overall fire safety and mitigating the probability of TR of LIBs are the chemistry and the SOC. The review of numerical modeling shows that it is quite challenging to reproduce experimental results with numerical simulations. Appropriate boundary conditions and fire properties as input parameters are required to model the onset of TR and heat transfer from thereon.

Analysis of Fire Hazards Associated with the Operation of Electric Vehicles in Enclosed Structures

“…LCO and LFP cells had the highest power during battery fire tests and NMC cells had the lowest power. In reference [85] a similar influence of the time of TR occurrence on the battery SOC charge state was observed on the amount of energy released during a fire HRRmax, and the more charged the cell the higher value of HRRmax which is reached in a shorter time [85].…”

“…During stage 3 the combustion of the electrolyte begins, the electrolytes used in LIBs are usually organic, which are highly volatile and flammable [74, [81][82][83][84]. If it is impossible to stop the increase of temperature of a Li-ion battery inevitably a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs and ends with a cell fire [85]. The development of the thermal runaway reaction depends on the state of charge of the battery, the more charged the battery, the lower the temperature at which the reaction may start [85].…”

“…The development of the thermal runaway reaction depends on the state of charge of the battery, the more charged the battery, the lower the temperature at which the reaction may start [85]. The material from which the Li-ion battery is made influences the temperature at which the TR phenomenon starts, e.g., LCO batteries are characterised by the lowest temperature [85], the battery housing [85], battery state of health (SOH) [36], capacity and the energy density [37], ambient temperature [38]. The key parameter for describing the danger during a fire is the combustion characteristics, which is the basic data for assessing the If it is impossible to stop the increase of temperature of a Li-ion battery inevitably a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs and ends with a cell fire [85].…”

“…The material from which the Li-ion battery is made influences the temperature at which the TR phenomenon starts, e.g., LCO batteries are characterised by the lowest temperature [85], the battery housing [85], battery state of health (SOH) [36], capacity and the energy density [37], ambient temperature [38]. The key parameter for describing the danger during a fire is the combustion characteristics, which is the basic data for assessing the If it is impossible to stop the increase of temperature of a Li-ion battery inevitably a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs and ends with a cell fire [85]. The development of the thermal runaway reaction depends on the state of charge of the battery, the more charged the battery, the lower the temperature at which the reaction may start [85].…”

“…The key parameter for describing the danger during a fire is the combustion characteristics, which is the basic data for assessing the If it is impossible to stop the increase of temperature of a Li-ion battery inevitably a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs and ends with a cell fire [85]. The development of the thermal runaway reaction depends on the state of charge of the battery, the more charged the battery, the lower the temperature at which the reaction may start [85]. The material from which the Li-ion battery is made influences the temperature at which the TR phenomenon starts, e.g., LCO batteries are characterised by the lowest temperature [85], the battery housing [85], battery state of health (SOH) [36], capacity and the energy density [37], ambient temperature [38].…”