Simulation and analysis of pseudo-passive power battery thermal runaway propagation inhibition system

Passive power battery thermal runaway propagation inhibition technologies, being able to block the thermal runaway without external power sources, are highly important for the safety of electric vehicles and have attracted extensive attention. The existing passive thermal runaway propagation inhibition approach is based on thermal insulation, leading to the large thermal resistance between batteries and incompatibility with thermal management. In this regard, the pseudo-passive power battery thermal runaway propagation inhibition system, integrating with pseudo-passive heat removal and thermal insulation, is proposed to address the above-mentioned issue. The system model, based on the lumped parameter model of pseudo-passive heat removal and the 3D model of thermal runaway propagation, is developed and verified. A good agreement of the simulation and experiment data is shown, i.e., the average deviation is 6.91 %. Furthermore, the system performance is assessed and compared with the existing passive approach. Results display that the pseudo-passive heat removal process addresses 24.6 % of the heat generation of the battery array, and the thermal resistance necessary to stop the thermal runaway propagation comes down by 48–85 %. The paper provides new insight into power battery thermal runaway propagation inhibition technologies, and is favorable to enhance the safety of electric vehicles.