US-12620646-B2 - Battery thermal runway detection/prevention

US12620646B2US 12620646 B2US12620646 B2US 12620646B2US-12620646-B2

Abstract

Devices, assemblies, and associated methods for identifying a thermal runaway condition are provided. An example battery component comprises a plurality of battery cells disposed within a housing; and a battery cooling system operatively coupled to the plurality of battery cells that is configured to absorb heat emitted by the plurality of battery cells, wherein: at least a first portion of the battery cooling system is associated with at least a first battery cell and a first sensing element that is configured to obtain at least a first measurement associated with the first portion of the battery cooling system, and at least a second portion of the battery cooling system is associated with at least a second battery cell and a second sensing element that is configured to obtain at least a second measurement associated with the second portion of the battery cooling system.

Inventors

Nirmal A. Kumar

Assignees

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220321
Priority Date: 20220207

Claims (9)

1 . A battery component comprising: a plurality of battery cells disposed within a housing; a battery cooling system operatively coupled to the plurality of battery cells that is configured to absorb heat emitted by the plurality of battery cells, wherein: at least a first portion of the battery cooling system is associated with at least a first battery cell and a first sensing element that is configured to obtain at least a first measurement indication associated with a pressure change within the first portion of the battery cooling system based on the heat absorbed by the first portion of the battery cooling system from the first battery cell, wherein the first sensing element is a first pressure sensor; and at least a second portion of the battery cooling system is associated with at least a second battery cell and a second sensing element that is configured to obtain at least a second measurement indication associated with a pressure change within the second portion of the battery cooling system based on the heat absorbed by the second portion of the battery cooling system from the second battery cell, wherein the second sensing element is a second pressure sensor; and a controller component configured to determine a thermal runway condition, wherein the controller component is in electronic communication with the first sensing element and the second sensing element, wherein the controller component determines the thermal runway condition associated with at least one of the plurality of battery cells by determining that a difference between the first measurement indication and the second measurement indication is at least greater than a predetermined threshold value.
2 . The battery component of claim 1 , wherein the controller component is further configured to: determine at least one of an average battery cell temperature and a rate of battery temperature change associated with at least one of the plurality of battery cells; determine a predicted measurement associated with the at least a first portion of the battery cooling system or the at least a second portion of the battery cooling system; and identify the thermal runaway condition in an instance in which the difference between the average battery cell temperature or the rate of battery temperature change and the predicted measurement satisfies a predetermined threshold value.
3 . The battery component of claim 1 , wherein the controller component is further configured to: in response to identifying the thermal runaway condition, provide a first control indication to trigger deactivating the battery component; and provide a second control indication to generate an alert.
4 . The battery component of claim 1 , wherein: each of the first measurement indication and the second measurement indication comprises at least one of a pressure value and a rate of pressure change.
5 . The battery component of claim 1 , wherein the battery component comprises lithium-ion or a lithium polymer.
6 . The battery component of claim 1 , wherein the at least a first portion of the battery cooling system and the at least a second portion of the battery cooling system each comprise one or more cooling pipes that each contain a cooling substance.
7 . The battery component of claim 6 , wherein the at least a first portion of the battery cooling system and the at least a second portion of the battery cooling system are thermally insulated from one another.
8 . The battery component of claim 6 , wherein the cooling substance comprises at least one of a gaseous substance, a coolant, a refrigerant, a liquid substance, and a gel.
9 . The battery component of claim 1 , wherein the battery component is configured for use in at least one of a portable electronic device, an electric vehicle, a robot, a data center, a renewable energy system, an airplane, or a ship.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Indian Application No. 202211006363, filed Feb. 7, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to battery assemblies and, more particularly, to devices, systems, assemblies, and methods for detecting and mitigating thermal runaway. BACKGROUND Batteries (e.g., lithium-ion batteries) may be used to supply power a variety of devices (e.g., portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and the like) so that these devices may perform their intended operations. The inventors have identified numerous deficiencies with these existing technologies in the field, the remedies for which are the subject of the embodiments described herein. BRIEF SUMMARY Apparatuses, devices, systems, assemblies, and associated methods of identifying a thermal runaway condition with respect to a battery component are provided. In some examples, a battery component is provided. The example battery component may comprise a plurality of battery cells disposed within a housing; a battery cooling system operatively coupled to the plurality of battery cells that is configured to absorb heat emitted by the plurality of battery cells, wherein: at least a first portion of the battery cooling system is associated with at least a first battery cell and a first sensing element that is configured to obtain at least a first measurement associated with the first portion of the battery cooling system, and at least a second portion of the battery cooling system is associated with at least a second battery cell and a second sensing element that is configured to obtain at least a second measurement associated with the second portion of the battery cooling system; and a controller component in electronic communication with the first sensing element and the second sensing element. In some examples, the controller component is configured to: obtain a first measurement indication via the first sensing element; obtain a second measurement indication via the second sensing element; and identify a thermal runaway condition associated with at least one of the plurality of battery cells based at least in part on a difference between the first measurement indication and the second measurement indication. In some examples, the controller component is further configured to: determine at least one of an average battery cell temperature and a rate of battery temperature change associated with at least one of the plurality of battery cells; determine a predicted measurement associated with the at least a first portion of the of the battery cooling system or the at least a second portion of the battery cooling system; and identify the thermal runaway condition in an instance in which the difference between the average battery cell temperature or the rate of battery temperature change and the predicted measurement satisfies a predetermined threshold value. In some examples, the controller component is further configured to: in response to identifying the thermal runaway condition, provide a first control indication to trigger deactivating the battery component; and provide a second control indication to generate an alert. In some examples, the first sensing element and the second sensing element each comprise at least one of a pressure sensor or a temperature sensor, and each of the first measurement indication and the second measurement indication comprises at least one of a pressure value, a rate of pressure change, a temperature value, and a rate of temperature change. In some examples, the battery component comprises lithium-ion or a lithium polymer. In some examples, the at least a first portion of the battery cooling system and the at least a second portion of the battery cooling system each comprise one or more cooling pipes that each contain a cooling substance. In some examples, the at least a first portion of the battery cooling system and the at least a second portion of the battery cooling system are thermally insulated from one another. In some examples, the cooling substance comprises at least one of a gaseous substance, a coolant, a refrigerant, a liquid substance, and a gel. In some examples, the battery component is configured for use in at least one of a portable electronic device, an electric vehicle, a robot, a data center, a renewable energy system, an airplane, or a ship. In some examples, a method for identifying a thermal runaway condition associated with at least one battery cell of a plurality of battery cells disposed within a housing of a battery component is provided. The method may comprise: receiving, by a controller component, a first measurement indication associated with at least a first portion of a battery cooling system that is configured to absorb heat emitted by the plurality of battery cells; receiving, by the controller component,