Thermal runaway front propagation characteristics, modeling and judging criteria for multi-jelly roll prismatic lithium-ion battery applications

Large-format prismatic Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are prominent energy storage devices in electric transportation applications. However, large-format LIB induces severe thermal runaway (TR) disasters. Battery failure commonly initiates from a local point of one jelly roll and then propagates to the whole cell, called thermal runaway front (TRF) propagation. This study investigates the TRF propagation mechanism of multi-jelly roll-based LIBs through experiments, modeling, and theoretical analysis for thermal runaway propagation (TRP) mitigation. Experiments prove that battery venting changes along the jelly roll-safety valve directions during the TRF boundary movement. Besides, TRF propagation speed is found to be accelerated inside each cell (from 3.6 to 10.6 mm/s) during TRP, driven by a significant temperature gradient, chemical reactions, and gas flow along the TRP direction. The in-cell TRF acceleration behavior is more noticeable for batteries with more jelly rolls. The TRF speed-jelly roll index equations are proposed to reveal the propagation acceleration principle mathematically. Furthermore, a thermal-physical model is developed to precisely simulate in-cell TRF propagation behavior, which is validated by experimental data. Moreover, the TRF boundary temperature equation and “No TRP” judging criteria are proposed through theoretical analysis. This study proposes promising strategies for potential TRP suppression, contributing to future safe battery system design.