Failure propagation in multi-cell lithium ion batteries

•We observe the thermal runaway propagation of small multi-cell lithium ion batteries.•Batteries constructed of 18650 cells and flexible pouch cells are tested in series and parallel.•Thermal runaway is initiated using mechanical nail penetration.•18650 packs differ in result depending on electrical configuration.•All configurations of pouch cells behave similarly likely due to strong thermal contact.

Traditionally, safety and impact of failure concerns of lithium ion batteries have dealt with the field failure of single cells. However, large and complex battery systems require the consideration of how a single cell failure will impact the system as a whole. Initial failure that leads to the thermal runaway of other cells within the system creates a much more serious condition than the failure of a single cell. This work examines the behavior of small modules of cylindrical and stacked pouch cells after thermal runaway is induced in a single cell. Cylindrical cells are observed to be less prone to propagate owing to the limited contact between neighboring cells. The electrical connectivity is found to be impactful as the 10S1P cylindrical cell module did not show failure propagation through the module, while the 1S10P module had an energetic thermal runaway consuming the module minutes after the initiation failure trigger. Modules built using pouch cells conversely showed the impact of strong heat transfer between cells. In this case, a large surface area of the cells was in direct contact with its neighbors, allowing failure to propagate through the entire battery within 60–80 s for all configurations (parallel or series) tested.