Damage of cells and battery packs due to ground impact

•A general methodology is developed for analyzing ground impact of battery pack.•Scenarios of ground impact against battery pack of electric cars are discussed.•A hypothetic global FE model is developed for ground impact of battery pack.•Parametric study is carried out for ground impact of battery pack.•Failures of individual cell and shell casing are predicted with detailed models.

The present paper documents a comprehensive study on the ground impact of lithium-ion battery packs in electric vehicles. With the purpose of developing generic methodology, a hypothetic global finite element model is adopted. The force–displacement response of indentation process simulated by the global FE model is cross-validated with the earlier analytical solutions. The punching process after the armor plate perforation, the ensuing crack propagation of the armor plate as well as the local deformation modes of individual battery cells are clearly predicted by the global modeling. A parametric study is carried out, and a few underlying rules are revealed, providing important clues on the design of protective structure of battery packs against ground impact. In the next step, detailed FE models at the level of a single battery cell and shell casing are developed and simulations are performed using boundaries and loading conditions taken from the global solution. In the detailed modeling the failure of individual components is taken into account, which is an important indicator of electric short circuit of a battery cell and possible thermal runaway. The damage modes and the deformation tolerances of components in the battery cell under various loading conditions are observed and compared.