Detailed Characterization of Thermal Runaway Particle Emissions from a Prismatic NMC622 Lithium-Ion Battery

Particles ejected during thermal runaway (TR) of lithium-ion batteries carry a significant fraction of the total TR energy and can cause danger to other components in the battery system. The associated safety hazards should be addressed in the battery pack development process, which requires a deep...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Felix Elsner, Peter Gerhards, Gaël Berrier, Rémi Vincent, Sébastien Dubourg, Stefan Pischinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Batteries
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/11/6/225
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Summary:Particles ejected during thermal runaway (TR) of lithium-ion batteries carry a significant fraction of the total TR energy and can cause danger to other components in the battery system. The associated safety hazards should be addressed in the battery pack development process, which requires a deep understanding of TR particle characteristics. In this study, these characteristics are determined by applying several measurement techniques. Among them, dynamic image analysis and large particle image processing are applied to battery abuse particles for the first time, allowing their size and shape to be quantified in detail. Particles are collected from three overheating tests on a prismatic 51 Ah NMC622 cell under vacuum conditions in an autoclave environment. Battery abuse particles cover a wide size range, from micrometers to millimeters, with the largest particle reaching 51.4 mm. They are non-spherical, whereby sphericity, symmetry, and aspect ratio decrease for larger particles. Re-solidified copper droplets and intact separator pieces indicate particle temperatures of ~200–1100 °C at the time of cell ejection. Particles are partially combustible, with an exothermic onset at ~500 °C associated with graphite oxidation. Reactivity is non-linearly size dependent. Implications of these findings for battery system development are discussed.
ISSN:2313-0105