An Experimental Study on Preventing Thermal Runaway Propagation in Lithium-Ion Battery Module Using Aerogel and Liquid Cooling Plate Together

Preventing thermal runaway propagation is critical to improve the fire safety of electric vehicles. Experiments are conducted on the designed battery modules to study the effects of aerogel, liquid cooling plate, and their combination on the prevention mechanism of thermal runaway propagation. The characteristics of temperature, voltage, mass loss, and venting during the thermal runaway propagation process are compared and analyzed. The results indicate that: (1) adding the insulation material of aerogel can postpone the thermal runaway propagation, but may not completely cut-off the propagation process; (2) there is no obvious delay of thermal runaway propagation by adding the liquid cooling plate only, the propagation speed may be accelerated instead; (3) the thermal runaway propagation can be prevented by using aerogel and liquid cooling plate together. The study reminds us that safety design of battery thermal management system should consider the comprehensive heat transfer pathways in order to effectively prevent thermal runaway propagation.