Battery Thermal Runaway Cause Detection by Sensor Event Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies struggle to accurately determine the cause of thermal runaway events in batteries, which is crucial for timely mitigation and improving battery safety.
Innovation Solution
A battery safety evaluation system that utilizes internal and external sensors to capture data on pressure, aerosol, and vibration events, and a controller to analyze the time sequence of these events to determine whether the thermal runaway is caused by internal or external factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are deployed to capture battery condition events, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the sensing system into two distinct segments: internal sensing elements positioned within the battery package and external sensing elements positioned outside the battery package. Each segment captures different types of condition events (internal: pressure, temperature, gas composition; external: vibration, acoustic, environmental temperature), allowing comprehensive monitoring while organizing complexity into manageable functional modules
Solution Approach 2:
The controller serves as an intermediary that receives data from multiple sensing elements, processes the information, and determines the cause of thermal runaway events. This intermediary component integrates inputs from various sensors and applies logic to identify whether internal or external conditions caused the event, resolving the complexity of multi-sensor data interpretation
2Reliability
If internal and external sensors are used to capture event timing data, then reliability of cause determination is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions internal and external sensing elements in advance at predetermined locations within and around the battery package before operation. This preliminary positioning ensures that sensors are optimally placed to capture relevant condition events (such as pressure changes inside or vibrations outside), improving reliability without requiring high-precision adjustment during manufacturing or operation
3Loss of information
If time sequence analysis of sensor events is implemented, then loss of information is reduced, but processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The controller implements time sequence analysis by comparing timestamps of condition events from internal and external sensors to determine causation. Rather than continuously processing all sensor data, the system focuses analysis on specific event sequences that indicate thermal runaway causes, reducing processing load while maintaining complete cause identification through targeted temporal correlation analysis
Data Source
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AI summary
A system, method, and computer program product for determining the cause of a battery condition, such as a thermal runaway event, are provided. An example battery safety evaluation system may include a battery having a battery housing and an interior battery compartment. The battery safety evaluation system may include internal sensing elements attached to the interior battery compartment and configured to capture data representative of an internal battery condition event. The battery safety evaluation system may further include an external sensing element attached to the battery housing and configured to capture data representative of an external battery condition event. In addition, the battery safety evaluation system may include a controller for determining a cause of the battery condition based at least in part on a time sequence of events generated from the internal data captured by the internal sensing element and the external data captured by the external sensing element.