Staged thermal runaway behaviours of three typical lithium-ion batteries for hazard prevention

Thermal runaway (TR) considerably restricts the applications of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and the development of renewable energy sources, thus causing safety issues and economic losses. In the current study, the staged TR characteristics of three LIBs are examined using a self-built experimental platform and cone calorimeter. The results indicate that the TR of the ternary lithium and lithium cobalt batteries successively underwent the following stages: smoke production, swelling, bursting and combustion. By contrast, the lithium iron phosphate battery experiences smoulder instead of combustion during TR process. The TR time of the ternary lithium, lithium cobalt oxide and lithium iron phosphate batteries are 728 s, 689 s and 849 s, and the critical temperatures are 260.02 °C, 240.84 °C and 290.88 °C, respectively. Moreover, the lithium cobalt oxide battery has the largest heat release of 0.027 MJ m^-2, the ternary lithium battery presents the most mass loss rate of 0.75 g s^-1, and the lithium iron phosphate battery produced the largest smoke, CO and CO₂ during the TR process. These results reveal the safety and stability of three LIBs and can be beneficial for studies on the proactive process safety and potential hazard prevention of LIBs.