Dispersion of stored energy within a battery system at risk of failure
| DWPI Title: System for dispersing stored energy in an energy storage system, has controller that disperses energy from adjacent battery sub-assembly to charge remaining battery subassembly or routes energy through connection to remove energy from system |
| Abstract: A method and system for dispersing stored energy in an energy storage system to delay or arrest propagation of thermal runaway and thermally-induced cascading failures. The system includes a plurality of battery sub-assemblies and DC-DC converters connected to a shared DC bus through which energy may be exchanged. The system may be interfaced to an AC power grid or DC power system through an additional power converter. The method of dispersing stored energy uses this system to charge and discharge sub-assemblies such that the system is less susceptible to propagation of thermal runaway. The method determines, based on awareness of current system state, battery types, and electrical and thermal structure, the sequence of charging and discharging actions to best inhibit thermal runaway while preserving the system's ability to perform subsequent energy redistribution. |
| Use: System for dispersing stored energy in an energy storage system. |
| Advantage: The system determines the optimal strategy for redistributing energy within the energy storage system to minimize likelihood of propagation of thermally-induced failures when a failure is recognized. |
| Novelty: System comprises a multiple of battery sub-assemblies connected through a multiple of DC-DC converters to a shared DC bus, each battery sub-assembly having a DC voltage connected to a DC-DC converter of the multiple of DC-DC converters, each DC-DC converter configured for powering the shared DC bus; and a controller (102), where the controller is configured to perform steps listed below to detect a thermal runaway condition occurring in at least one failed battery sub-assembly in response to detecting the thermal runaway condition: isolate the DC-DC converter connected to the at least one failed battery sub-assembly; deactivate an inverter; and disperse energy from the at least one failed battery sub-assembly to charge at least one remaining battery sub-assembly, where the controller is further configured to: identify one or more pathways taken by a thermal energy released by the thermal runaway event. |
| Filed: 1/8/2021 |
| Application Number: US17144681A |
| Tech ID: SD 15111.0 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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