Battery Pod Fire Suppression for Mobile Li-Ion Thermal Runaway
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium-ion battery thermal runaway poses a risk of uncontrollable temperature increase and potential fire spread due to inadequate heat dissipation, which existing technologies fail to effectively mitigate in mobile energy storage systems.
Innovation Solution
A system incorporating a water spray subsystem with sprinkler nozzles and a dry chemical spray subsystem, both connected to a pump package and water storage supply, is mounted on an ESS trailer, with sensors controlling the activation of these subsystems to suppress thermal runaway and fires within battery pods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If water spray subsystem is used to cool battery cells, then thermal runaway is retarded or stopped, but system complexity increases due to pump package and fluid connections
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system is divided into separate functional modules: water spray subsystem with individual sprinkler nozzles for each battery pod, dry chemical spray subsystem with distribution nozzles, and pump package with fluid connections. This segmentation allows targeted cooling of affected battery cells while maintaining system manageability through modular components.
2Reliability
If dry chemical spray subsystem is added to suppress fires, then fire suppression capability is improved, but device complexity and substance quantity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges water spray subsystem and dry chemical spray subsystem into a single integrated fire suppression system. Both subsystems share common mounting structures on the ESS trailer and coordinate through centralized control, allowing the system to address both thermal runaway (via water cooling) and fire suppression (via dry chemical) functions within a unified architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire suppression system is designed to perform multiple functions: the water spray subsystem cools battery cells to retard thermal runaway, while the dry chemical spray subsystem suppresses active fires. This multi-functionality ensures comprehensive protection against different failure modes without requiring separate independent systems.
3Reliability
If comprehensive fire suppression system is implemented, then safety against thermal runaway is improved, but weight and volume of mobile system increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system implements local quality by placing sprinkler nozzles and dry chemical distribution nozzles directly within individual battery pods. This localized approach concentrates suppression capability where it is most needed, reducing the overall amount of suppression media and system components required compared to a universal coverage system.
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 retards or stops thermal runaway by cooling lithium-ion battery cells with water and suppresses fires using dry chemicals, providing a comprehensive solution for fire suppression in mobile energy storage systems.
Implementation Method 1
The system effectively retards or stops thermal runaway by cooling lithium-ion battery cells with water
Implementation Method 2
suppresses fires using dry chemicals
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes an energy storage system (ESS), having battery pods and one or more battery cells disposed within the battery pods. The system also includes an ESS trailer, the ESS mounted on the ESS trailer. Also, the system includes a water spray subsystem. The water spray subsystem includes a plurality of sprinkler nozzles mounted within the battery pods and a first fluid connection fluidly connecting the sprinkler nozzles to a pump package. In addition, the water spray subsystem includes a second fluid connection, fluidly connecting the pump package to a water storage supply. The system includes a dry chemical spray subsystem, which has a dry chemical supply vessel, the dry chemical supply vessel mounted to the ESS trailer and a plurality of dry chemical distribution nozzles mounted within the battery pods, the dry chemical distribution nozzles fluidly connected to the dry chemical supply vessel by dry chemical distribution piping.