Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Runaway Suppression Using Water Spray Cooling

Eric Huhn (), Nicole Braxtan, Shen-En Chen (), Anthony Bombik, Tiefu Zhao, Lin Ma, John Sherman and Soroush Roghani
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Eric Huhn: William States Lee College of Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Nicole Braxtan: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Shen-En Chen: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Anthony Bombik: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Tiefu Zhao: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Lin Ma: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
John Sherman: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Soroush Roghani: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: Despite the commercial success of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the risk of thermal runaway, which can lead to dangerous fires, has become more concerning as LIB usage increases. Research has focused on understanding the causes of thermal runaway and how to prevent or detect it. Additionally, novel thermal runaway-resistant materials are being researched, as are different methods of constructing LIBs that better isolate thermal runaway and prevent it from propagating. However, field firefighters are using hundreds of thousands of liters of water to control large runaway thermal emergencies, highlighting the need to merge research with practical observations. To study battery fire, this study utilized a temperature abuse method to increase LIB temperature and investigated whether thermal runaway can be suppressed by applying external cooling during heating. The batteries used were pouch-type ones and subjected to high states of charge (SOC), which primed the thermal runaway during battery temperature increase. A water spray method was then devised and tested to reduce battery temperature. Results showed that, without cooling, a thermal runaway fire occurred every time during the thermal abuse. However, external cooling successfully prevented thermal runaway. This observation shows that using water as a temperature reducer is more effective than using it as a fire suppressant, which can substantially improve battery performance and increase public safety.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery; thermal runaway; battery fire; fire protection; combustion; cooling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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