Battery (electricity)

Engineering

Flammability limit

Lithium (medication)

Aerospace engineering

Lithium-ion battery

Materials science

Endocrinology

Power (physics)

Flammable liquid

Waste management

Thermodynamics

Physics

Nuclear engineering

Flammability

Environmental science

Composite material

Environmental protection

Medicine

Chemistry

Forensic engineering

Ignition system

Fire hazard

Thermal runaway

Journal of Power Sources

Lithium-ion battery technology is rapidly being adopted in transportation applications and energy storage industries. Safety concerns, in particular, fire and explosion hazards, are threatening widespread adoption. In some failure events, lithium-ion cells can undergo thermal runaway, which can result in the release of flammable gases that pose fire and explosion hazards for the compartment housing the cells. However, there is little available information characterizing the flammability properties of the gases released after cell thermal runaway. In this paper, analytical and modeling methods to estimate explosion characteristics, such as lower flammability limit, laminar flame speed, and maximum over-pressure are evaluated for use in quantifying the effect of cell chemistry, state-of-charge and other parameters on the overall explosion hazard potential for confined cells.

Explosion hazards from lithium-ion battery vent gas