Battery Pack Thermal Event Detection Using Sensor Reliability Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Thermal events in battery packs of electrified vehicles are challenging to detect accurately due to unreliable temperature readings from sensors, which can lead to inappropriate actions and increased risk of thermal runaway.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that assess the reliability of temperature readings from sensors by flagging them based on past and current readings, allowing only reliable data to be used for thermal event detection, and keeping the battery monitoring system awake to monitor for voltage drops and temperature increases, while ignoring data from unreliable sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If temperature readings from sensors are used for thermal event detection, then thermal events can be detected, but false detections occur due to unreliable sensor readings
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of sensor reliability by comparing temperature readings across multiple sensors and evaluating whether readings fall within expected ranges before using them for thermal event detection. This preliminary filtering prevents unreliable readings from causing false detections while maintaining sensitivity to real thermal events.
2Reliability
If the battery monitoring system remains awake to monitor temperature continuously, then thermal events can be detected timely, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery monitoring system operates in periodic cycles, alternating between active monitoring phases where temperature and voltage are continuously checked and sleep phases where consumption is minimized. The system wakes periodically to assess sensor reliability and check for thermal events, then returns to sleep mode when no events are detected, balancing timely detection with energy conservation.
3Reliability
If multiple sensors are used to monitor battery temperature, then detection coverage is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines data from multiple temperature sensors and voltage sensors into a unified assessment model. By merging sensor readings and evaluating them collectively against thermal event criteria, the system achieves comprehensive monitoring coverage while managing complexity through integrated processing rather than separate evaluation systems for each sensor.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of detecting a thermal event associated with a battery assembly of an electrified vehicle includes, among other things, obtaining a temperature reading from a sensor associated with an area of the battery assembly, assessing whether the sensor is flagged with a first identifier or a second identifier. The first identifier indicates that the temperature reading is reliable. The second identifier indicates that the temperature reading is unreliable. If the sensor is flagged with the first identifier, the method detects a thermal event associated with the battery assembly based on the temperature reading from the sensor.