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Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with relatively high energy, power density and eco-friendly characteristic are considered as a vital energy source in consumer market of portable electronics and transportation sector especially in electric vehicles (EVs). To meet the higher capacity requirements, the nickel-rich LIBs with higher capacity has been used as the commercial power batteries. However, the battery with higher energy density is more destructive, which could result in thermal runaway accidents and make the battery safety issues become more and more prominent. Thermal runaway of LIBs is one of the key scientific problems in safety issues. Until now, the inducement of thermal runaway process is complicated which perplex researchers and industry a lot. On the one hand, the internal mechanism about thermal runaway should be deeply studied. On the other hand, in-situ monitoring should be developed to supply the mechanism study and early warning.

High-nickel lithium-ion batteries extend the driving mileage of electric vehicles (EVs) to 600km without much cost increment. However, thermal accidents commonly occur due to their poor thermal stability, such as thermal runaway. To address the issue, a comprehensive analysis of the thermal runaway behavior of high-nickel lithium-ion batteries with different specifications is conducted. The thermal runaway process is divided into five stages based on self-heating generation, voltage drop, safety valve rupture, and thermal runaway triggering for the three tested cells. The three tested cells demonstrate similar behaviors during each stage of the thermal runaway process. However, there are still apparent differences between their characteristics. This study analyses the thermal runaway features from the following aspects: (i) characteristic temperature; (ii) the relationship between sudden voltage drop and characteristic temperatures; (iii) temperature recovery; (iv) thermodynamics.

The application of Li(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)O2 (NCM811) cathode-based lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has alleviated electric vehicle range anxiety. However, the subsequent thermal safety issues limit their market acceptance. A detailed analysis of the failure evolution process for large-format LIBs is necessary to address the thermal safety issue. In this study, prismatic cells with nominal capacities of 144Ah and 125Ah are used to investigate the thermal runaway (TR) characteristics triggered by lateral overheating. Additionally, TR characteristics under two states of charge (SoCs) (100% and 5%) are discussed. Two cells with 100% SoC exhibit similar characteristics, including high failure temperature, high inhomogeneity of temperature distribution, multi-points jet fire, and significant mass loss. Two cells with 5% SoC demonstrate only a slight rupture of the safety valve and the emission of white smoke.