Special Section on Advances in Lithium-Ion Battery Safety

Abstract

Battery safety has attracted attention worldwide due to the exponentially increasing numbers of mobile devices and as well as the fast-growing electric vehicle market. The milestone safety issues, i.e., short circuit and thermal runaway, can be triggered by mechanical, electrical, and thermal abusive loadings. Such catastrophic events are highly nonlinear and strongly multiphysics-coupled problems, which hinders a clear understanding of the mechanism and direct guidance for engineering applications. Further, safety problems can evolve and exhibit in various ways spanning various scales, i.e., from the active particle level (1 µm) up to the battery pack level (1 m). Research on lithium-ion battery safety may lead to breakthroughs in electrochemistry and multiphysics theories, offer rational engineering designs, and develop advanced battery management systems.