Battery Gas Sensing for Early Thermal Runaway Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery cell state of health monitoring in large battery systems is limited to detecting damage after a single cell thermal runaway event, failing to provide early warning for thermal runaway mitigation at the cell level, which increases the risk of pack-level thermal runaway and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) equipped with a battery management system (BMS) that includes gas sensor arrays to detect trace amounts of gases vented by battery cells, allowing for early detection of damage and implementation of corrective actions to prevent irreversible thermal runaway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional integrated circuit monitoring is used in large battery systems, then the system can detect damage after thermal runaway events, but it cannot provide early warning for thermal runaway mitigation
Solution Approach 1:
The gas sensor array detects trace amounts of gases (H2, CO, CO2, C2H4) vented by battery cells before thermal runaway occurs. This preliminary detection of gas evolution enables early warning and mitigation actions to be taken before catastrophic failure, resolving the contradiction by providing advance notice rather than post-event detection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional voltage/current/temperature sensing with a gas sensor array that detects chemical signatures of cell degradation. This substitution enables detection of damage mechanisms (gas evolution) that precede thermal runaway, providing earlier warning capability while maintaining monitoring functionality
2Loss of time
If gas sensor arrays are deployed to detect trace gases for early damage detection, then early warning capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gas sensor array is designed to detect multiple different gases (H2, CO, CO2, C2H4) simultaneously using a single integrated sensor platform. This multi-functionality allows the system to monitor various degradation mechanisms through one device, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive early detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple gas detection capabilities into a single sensor array module that can be integrated with the existing battery management system. By merging the detection of multiple gas species and multiple cell monitoring into unified hardware and software platforms, the system achieves early warning capability without proportionally increasing complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively detects damage in battery cells before they enter irreversible thermal runaway, enabling timely corrective actions that reduce the likelihood of pack-level thermal runaway and potential damage.
Implementation Method 1
Each gas sensor in the array is configured to detect a trace amount of one of the gases vented by the battery cell(s)
Data Source
AI summary
A rechargeable energy storage system includes battery cell(s) and a battery management system (BMS) for detecting cell damage prior to the cell(s) entering an irreversible thermal runaway. The BMS includes gas sensor array(s) for detecting gas(es) vented by the cell(s). Each sensor detects a trace amount of one vented gas indicative of cell damage insufficient to trigger an irreversible thermal runaway. The BMS also includes a controller receiving from the sensor array(s) data indicative of the detected gas trace amounts. The controller compares the detected trace amount with a threshold margin relative to an amount indicative of cell damage that triggers irreversible thermal runaway. The controller additionally identifies damaged cell(s) when the detected trace amount is within the threshold margin. The controller further commands a corrective action to mitigate further damage to the damaged cell(s) and reduce a likelihood of the subject cell(s) entering the irreversible thermal runaway.