Thermal runaway and explosibility of the gas release from 18650 sodium-ion cells of NFM chemistry

The present study investigates the thermal runaway behaviour and explosibility of the gas mixture released from sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). A total of 30 tests comprising two test series were performed using 18650 SIBs with a NaNi 1/3 Fe 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 (NFM) chemistry. The cells of SOC level = 0 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 % were subjected to thermal abuse inside a 10 L pressurized reaction vessel. In test series 1, the tests were performed in an air atmosphere. In test series 2, an inert atmosphere was used. First, the total amount of gas released from the SIBs was calculated based on the temperature and pressure measured in the reaction vessel. Subsequently, a gas composition analysis was performed using a Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. This study revealed that the thermal runaway in SIBs could be categorized into four phases. At the onset of thermal runaway, the thermal runaway-induced explosion of the cells resulted in a rate of temperature rise ranging from 2 K/s to 70 K/s. The investigation further revealed a peak reaction temperature of 415 °C and a maximum pressure of 4 bar could be reached at thermal runaway in the 10 L vessel. The gas release of up to 5 ± 0.3 L (4 ± 0.2 L/Ah, 1.3 ± 0.1 L/Wh) from test series 1 and 2.4 ± 0.2 L (2 ± 0.1 L/Ah, 0.53 ± 0.04 L/Wh) from test series 2 showed a dependence on SOC and failure environment used. By applying Le Chatelier's mixing rule, the measured gas release from the air atmosphere showed a calculated lower explosion limit and upper explosion limit values of 4.8 % and 24 % in volume fraction, respectively. • The thermal runaway process can be categorized into 4 distinct phases. • Sodium-ion batteries thermal runaway characteristics in air and nitrogen gas atmosphere are compared. • The explosion hazard and characteristics gas release at thermal runaway were analyzed.