Surrogate Model for the Effect of Charge State in Lithium-ion Battery Fires

Abstract

Recently, the demand for eco-friendly energy sources, including batteries, has increased rapidly owing to growing climate and environmental problems. However, battery fire accidents are also increasing, and many researchers are focusing on the safe use of batteries and their flammability characteristics. Owing to the multiple battery types, conducting experiments is difficult in all cases, so various methods to model battery fires are being attempted. This study focuses on the effect of charge states and models surrogate fuels for battery thermal runaway. Three surrogate fuels were selected based on the battery components, and a method of increasing the oxygen concentration was adapted to model the effect that occurs when the charge states of a battery fire increases. As a result, the temperature and pressure increased in all cases, and it appears that the explosion caused by the battery thermal runaway can be simulated by the model. One of the results of this study is that ethane exposed to a high temperature not only contributes to the physical explosion of the battery but also increases the risk of chemical explosion as it decomposes in to H₂ and CH₄ .