Thermal explosion hazards on 18650 lithium ion batteries with a VSP2 adiabatic calorimeter

Abstract

Thermal abuse behaviors relating to adiabatic runaway reactions in commercial 18650 lithium ion batteries (LiCoO2) are being studied in an adiabatic calorimeter, vent sizing package 2 (VSP2). We select four worldwide battery producers, Sony, Sanyo, Samsung and LG, and tested their Li-ion batteries, which have LiCoO2 cathodes, to determine their thermal instabilities and adiabatic runaway features. The charged (4.2V) and uncharged (3.7V) 18650 Li-ion batteries are tested using a VSP2 with a customized stainless steel test can to evaluate their thermal hazard characteristics, such as the initial exothermic temperature (T0), the self-heating rate (dT/dt), the pressure rise rate (dP/dt), the pressure-temperature profiles and the maximum temperature (Tmax) and pressure (Pmax). The Tmax and Pmax of the charged Li-ion battery during the runaway reaction reach 903.0°C and 1565.9psig (pound-force per square inch gauge), respectively. This result leads to a thermal explosion, and the heat of reaction is 26.2kJ. The thermokinetic parameters of the reaction of LiCoO2 batteries are also determined using the Arrhenius model. The thermal reaction mechanism of the Li-ion battery (pack) proved to be an important safety concern for energy storage. Additionally, use of the VSP2 to classify the self-reactive ratings of the various Li-ion batteries demonstrates a new application of the adiabatic calorimetric methodology. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.