Publications
Modeling thermal runaway in Lithium-Ion packs as a function of scale and heat source
As deployment of large-scale Li-Ion battery modules is contemplated, there is a need to understand the propensity for thermal runaway in individual cells and the large-scale thermal failure at the pack level. Sources of thermal energy can lead to runaway including short circuits (internal or external), exothermic processes from overcharge of imbalanced cells, the external environment, and other factors. With battery modules consisting of hundreds or even thousands of cells, it will be necessary to design tolerance to local heat release, regardless of the source. This work presents a chemistry-independent framework for analyzing and modeling thermal runaway that will be demonstrated by applying it to thermal runaway (ignition) and cascading failure (propagation).