A Novel Approach for Predicting Thermal Runaway in Electric Vehicle Batteries When Involved in a Collision

Electric Vehicle (EV) battery manufactures are under pressure to ensure their products are safe and not prone to undetectable heat after an impact, which could lead to thermal runaway. Constant monitoring of the battery’s behaviour and, in particular, heat generation is therefore important for the safety of the vehicle and the occupant. An aim of this research is to use a series of battery models to study the charge/discharge and thermal behaviour of EV lithium ion batteries under normal and damaged conditions through modelling and physical/electrical testing. An equivalent circuit model is identified and tested to determine the electrical behaviour of the batteries and a 2 degree of freedom (DOF) model is discussed for the plastic deformational behaviour of the battery compartment as the result of an impact. The ultimate goal of this work is to develop a new model integrating physical, chemical, thermal and electrical behaviour to improve safety.