Author

Madeline Liu

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Guangsheng Zhang

Committee Member

George Nelson

Committee Member

Yu Lei

Research Advisor

Guangsheng Zhang

Subject(s)

Lithium ion batteries--Performance--Simulation methods, Lithium ion batteries--Thermal properties, Lithium ion batteries--Safety measures

Abstract

Internal short circuit (ISC) caused thermal runaway is a critical challenge for Li-ion batteries. Our group reported a method for simultaneous triggering and in situ measurement of critical ISC parameters including temperature, current, and resistance to quantify ISC behaviors. However, cells in the previous study were unable to experience thermal runaway due to insufficient capacity. In this Thesis, the method was implemented in 4-Ah cells. Cells with Al-anode and Al-Cu ISC experienced thermal runaway while cells with cathode-anode and cathode-Cu ISC did not, highlighting the effects of cell capacity and ISC resistance. Additionally, we investigated the effects of state-of-charge (SOC) and thermal boundary conditions. Low SOC and strong cooling mitigated thermal runaway in cells with Al-anode ISC because high ISC current and heat generation rate could not be maintained. These findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the method in quantifying ISC behaviors and enhanced the understanding of ISC caused thermal runaway.

Available for download on Thursday, August 05, 2027

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