Simulation of Onset and Propagation of Heat within Lithium-ion Battery Pack During Thermal Runaway

Thermal runaway of batteries is a cause of concern in most applications. Effective measures to prevent thermal runaway are important to ensure safe operation of the battery pack. This paper furnishes cell-to-cell heat transfer simulations which helps to forecast onset of thermal runaway. The simulation is conducted by choosing a trigger cell placed at two different locations within a 25 cell Lithium-ion battery pack. It can be seen that when the cells are placed close to each other without any spacing between them, both radiation and convective heat transfer play a crucial role in battery packs. The location of the trigger cell has a significant impact on thermal propagation within the pack. The paper also mentions practical strategies to mitigate onset of thermal runaway.