Abstract

Battery thermal runaway is a serious safety concern, especially with the increasing power demands and faster charging of electric vehicles (EVs). In this webinar, we will explore two different battery cooling methods, cold plate and immersion cooling, and address the challenges of thermal runaway through numerical simulations. Thermal runaway is a complex 3D multi-physics issue that demands significant computational resources. Hence, we aim for both accuracy and speed in our solutions.  A synergetic 1D-3D modeling approach is implemented to reduce the simulation time. Pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) electrochemical battery models along with chemical kinetics model derived from Arrhenius equations are used and coupled to the thermal and flow domain to predict three different phases of thermal runaway, namely, initiation, ignition, and propagation. Chemical reactions causing thermal runaway, including heat generation and venting gas phenomena, are incorporated into GT-AutoLion, a battery simulation tool in GT-SUITE. In certain extreme conditions, thermal runaway triggered in one cell can spread to others, depending on the cooling method. Cold plate cooling tends to propagate thermal runaway, while immersion cooling contains it. In summary, the presented simulation strategy was found to be effective in choosing and designing the right cooling concept from the safety point of view.

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