Modelling Thermal Runaway and Abuse in Batteries

One of the main factors influencing the safety of Li-ion batteries is thermal runaway and its cascading effect through the pack. Thermal abuse conditions also have an adverse effect on battery function and can lead to catastrophic damages. To predict thermal runaway, it is necessary to account for several different physical phenomena, including chemical reactions within the cell, heat transfer at the cell and pack level, the structural design of the pack, and fluid flow in the battery pack’s cooling system.