Numerical Analysis of Lithium-ion Battery Thermal Management System Towards Fire Safety Improvement

Abstract

The development of alternative energy sources aims to tackle the energy crisis and climate change. Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy, energy storage systems find antidotes to the current flaws for ensuring a stable and consistent power supply and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Lithium-ion batteries are the most used energy storage unit and have been applied in many fields, such as portable devices, building infrastructure, automotive industries, etc. Nevertheless, there remain significant safety concerns and fire risks. Thus, this has created much interest particularly in developing a comprehensive numerical tool to effectively assess the thermal behaviour and safety performance of battery thermal management systems (BTMs). In this thesis, a modelling framework was built by integrating the artificial neural network model with the computational fluid dynamics analysis. This includes (i) a comparison of natural ventilation and forced air cooling under various ambient pressures; (ii) an analysis of thermal behaviour and cooling performance with different ambient temperatures and ventilation velocities; and (iii) optimisation of battery pack layout for enhancing the cooling efficiency and reducing the risks of thermal runaway and fire outbreak. The optimal battery design achieved a 1.9% decrease in maximum temperature and a 4.5% drop in temperature difference. Moreover, this thesis delivered an overall review of BTMs employing machine learning (ML) techniques and the application of various ML models in battery fire diagnosis and early warning, which brings new insights into BTMs design and anticipates further smart battery systems. In addition, the battery thermal propagation effect under various abnormal heat generation locations was demonstrated to investigate several stipulating thermal propagation scenarios for enhancing battery thermal performances. The results indicated that various abnormal heat locations disperse heat to the surrounding coolant and other cells, affecting the cooling performance of the battery pack. The feasibility of compiling all pertinent information, including battery parameters and operation conditions, was studied in this thesis since ML models can build non-related factors relationships. The integrated numerical model offers a promising and efficient tool for simultaneously optimising multiple factors in battery design and facilitates a constructive understanding of battery performance and potential risks