Modular DC Energy Storage Barriers for Battery Fire Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
High voltage direct current (HVDC) energy storage systems face risks of complete destruction due to battery fires, which can spread and affect other power equipment, leading to safety and operational issues.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of fire-resistant protective barriers and bypass elements within the DC energy storage system allows for safe operation at reduced capacity during a battery fire, isolating affected modules and preventing the spread of the fire to other sections, enabling timely removal of faulty modules and maintaining system integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fire-resistant protective barriers are installed to separate modules into converter sections, then safety and fault tolerance are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The DC energy storage system is divided into multiple converter sections, each containing a subset of modules. Fire-resistant protective barriers physically separate these converter sections, preventing fire propagation between sections. This segmentation allows the system to maintain operational integrity in unaffected sections even when one section experiences a battery fire, thereby improving safety and fault tolerance while managing complexity through modular design.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the DC energy storage system operates as a stand-alone system connected to the DC link, then the risk of fire spreading to other power equipment is reduced, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The DC energy storage system is extracted from the AC-DC converter station and configured as a stand-alone system directly connected to the DC link. This physical and functional separation removes the AC connection interface, thereby eliminating the pathway for fire to spread to other AC power equipment. The system maintains its utility by providing DC energy storage services independently, managing the trade-off between reduced adaptability and improved fire safety.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4a~4d
AI summary
A DC energy storage system (20) comprises: first and second DC terminals (24,26) for connection to a DC link (28); a DC energy storage converter (22) including a plurality of modules (32) connected in series between the first and second DC terminals (24,26), each module (32) including at least one switching element and at least one battery, the or each switching element and the or each battery in each module (32) being combinable to selectively provide a voltage source; and at least one fire-resistant protective barrier (50) arranged to separate the plurality of modules (32) into converter sections (52), each converter section (52) including at least one module (32) of the plurality of modules (32).