Research on thermal runaway propagation of lithium-ion batteries based on cold plate cooling and flame-retardant materials

Battery cooling and thermal runaway propagation (TRP) inhibiting were crucial to the safe and efficient operation of lithium-ion batteries. Currently, the most frequently used methods for suppressing TRP in lithium-ion batteries can be classified into methods based on thermal insulation materials, phase change materials, and liquid cooling. However, suffering from low cooling efficiency and poor thermal insulation, these methods do not fundamentally ensure the safety of the battery system. In this paper, a cold plate-flame retardant plate-cold plate (CFCP) based inter-battery cooling system is proposed, which combines the good cooling performance of liquidcooled plates and the fireproof performance of flame-retardant materials, to inhibit the propagation of thermal runaway in batteries. Three typical structures of cooling runner and three typical flame-retardant materials, including glass wool, aerogel, and polyimide foam (PIF), are tested to achieve the optimum performance. The results demonstrate that the CFCP based cooling system could achieve better cooling performance compared to traditional bottom cold plate cooling systems; heat transfer from the thermal runaway cell to the neighboring cells could be effectively suppressed when flow rate is 0.05 m/s. Additionally, the CFCP cooling system based on aerogel and the cold plate with a five-vertical-channel cooling structure could achieve the best cooling effect.