Techniques and Systems for Monitoring Gas Generation in EV Batteries

Early detection and mitigation of thermal runaway in electric vehicle (EV) batteries to prevent fires and damage. The system uses sensors to detect outgassing, a precursor to thermal runaway, and alerts the fleet management system. This allows proactive response like evacuating the vehicle or redirecting assignments. On-board cooling and fire suppression can also be triggered. In EV facilities, the system identifies nearby vehicles and takes actions to protect them if a battery is outgassing.

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Early detection and mitigation of thermal runaway in electric vehicle (EV) batteries to prevent fires. It uses sensors to monitor gas levels around the battery. If outgassing is detected, indicating thermal runaway, an alert is sent to the fleet management system. The system can then take actions like reassigning the EV, evacuating nearby vehicles, or deploying firewalls. On-board cooling is also triggered to suppress the runaway. This allows earlier intervention compared to just monitoring battery temperature.

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Early detection of battery cell damage in large battery systems like electric vehicle packs to mitigate thermal runaway. The system uses gas sensors inside the battery pack to detect trace amounts of gases vented by damaged cells before they reach critical failure levels. The sensors have selectivity for specific gases released during cell damage. An electronic controller monitors the sensor data to identify damaged cells before they fully fail and propagate thermal runaway. By detecting early cell damage, the system can prevent chain reactions and contain cell failures to avoid pack-level thermal runaway.

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Diagnosing the internal gas generation and causes of a battery in a non-destructive manner based on impedance profiling. The method involves calculating resistance and capacity change rates from battery voltage, temperature, impedance, and discharge data. Threshold values are used to determine if gas generation is occurring. High resistance change indicates internal gas. High capacity change indicates degradation.

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High throughput extraction of battery cell formation gas for analysis to improve battery quality control. The degas system has a chamber to receive a cell, an opening actuator to release gas, a collection chamber, and a manifold to measure gas compositions. Valves route gas to the collection chamber before venting. A dilution fluid is added to the collected gas before analysis. This allows extracting and analyzing formation gas in-line during degassing to detect quality issues earlier compared to post-aging analysis.

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Battery cell monitoring system for detecting and isolating faulty cells in a battery pack to prevent propagation of issues like thermal runaway. The system uses gas sensors inside the battery cells to monitor levels of gases like CO, CO2, H2, C2H4, and CH4. Analyzing the gas levels helps diagnose cell issues during formation and use. If a cell generates excessive gases, it indicates problems like overcharging, overdischarging, or aging. The system can quickly isolate and remove faulty cells to prevent cascading failures.

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Detecting battery failure, particularly thermal runaway, in enclosed battery systems like electric vehicle packs and stationary storage. The system uses sensors to detect attributes of initial cell venting that are shared across various battery designs, rather than relying on specific chemistry or packaging. This allows robust, agnostic detection of thermal runaway initiation within enclosures. The sensors respond to venting gases of a failing cell to identify the early stages of runaway.

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Early detection and mitigation of thermal runaway in electric vehicle (EV) batteries to prevent fires. The system uses gas sensors around the battery to detect outgassing, indicating potential thermal runaway. If outgassing is detected, the EV can transmit an alert to fleet management. The fleet can then assign a different EV to the task to avoid fire risk. If the runaway occurs in a facility, the fleet can isolate the affected EV and protect nearby EVs. The sensors enable earlier detection compared to just monitoring battery temperature.

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Battery system with active thermal runaway prevention using an enclosure filled with a thermal control fluid. The battery cells are pouch-type with adhesive seals that release when internal pressure exceeds a threshold. A gas sensor monitors for vent gases. If vent gases are detected, a valve opens to allow the thermal control fluid to enter the pouch through the released seal. This floods the cell with the fluid to quench thermal runaway.

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Monitoring swelling and gas generation in lithium-ion battery cells to predict cell damage and failures. The technique involves installing the battery module in a chamber at high temperature to accelerate cell swelling. Gas sensor units inside the module measure generated gas and transmit data to a processor. By comparing gas detection times from multiple sensors, the processor predicts which cells are damaged. This allows evaluating performance of a new battery module before use to identify vulnerable cells.

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Early detection and mitigation of thermal runaway in battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) to prevent fires. The system involves using gas sensors to monitor the surrounding atmosphere near the EV battery. If outgassing is detected, indicating potential thermal runaway, an alert is sent to a fleet management system. The system can then take actions like reassigning the EV, deploying firewalls, or instructing nearby EVs to move. This enables earlier intervention to prevent fires compared to just monitoring battery temperature.

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Battery monitoring system that prevents battery cells from reaching ventilation. The system includes a battery module, a gas sensor configured to detect the presence of gas within the battery module, and a temperature sensor.

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Monitoring systems and methods to detect faults in energy storage systems like batteries used in electric vehicles. The monitoring uses sensors and parameter estimations to detect unexpected behavior indicative of faults like loose connections, failed cells, or thermal issues. The monitoring compares sensed temperatures, electrical characteristics, and thermal calculations to expected values to identify deviations that may indicate faults.

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An electrical energy storage system for vehicles that has improved safety by monitoring and responding to gas escapes from the battery cells. The system uses a gas sensor between the cell degassing openings and the circuit board. If the sensor detects gas, the storage device sends a message to the vehicle controller to alert it. If the sensor detects gas and the storage device control fails within a defined period, a safety action is executed. This prevents uncontrolled cell venting that can occur if the battery management system fails.

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A battery failure detection system that can rapidly and robustly detect thermal runaway in batteries like those used in electric vehicles and stationary storage. The system identifies attributes of initial cell venting that are shared between various battery designs, and responds to the gases released during cell failure. It aims to address the challenge of fast, robust thermal runaway detection within a battery enclosure that is agnostic to electrochemistry, cell packaging, or battery configuration by focusing on the common characteristics of cell venting rather than specific battery details.

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Detecting and mitigating thermal runaway in battery-powered electric vehicles to prevent fires and damage. The system uses a gas sensor to measure gas levels around the battery. If certain gasses indicate outgassing, a thermal event detector determines thermal runaway. The vehicle alerts fleet management, which can reassign the vehicle. In facility mode, it identifies nearby vehicles and protects them from the runaway vehicle. The vehicle also applies onboard coolant to suppress runaway.

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Inexpensive gas detection for battery packs in electric vehicles and other applications. The battery pack has gas discharge valves to prevent cell rupture. A gas guide path connects the valves to the outside. Thermal fuses are placed in sub-paths above the cells. If high-pressure gas enters the guide path, the fuses melt. This indicates a cell rupture. By placing the fuses above the cells instead of directly exposed to the discharge valves, it prevents false positives from normal cell operation. This is less expensive than adding temperature and gas sensors in the discharge path, which are unnecessary during normal operation.

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Battery system for vehicles with improved overheat detection using temperature-sensitive coatings and a gas sensor. The coating emits a gaseous species when temperature exceeds a threshold. The gas sensor detects the emitted species to indicate overheating. This provides additional overheat detection beyond just voltage, current, and temperature measurements. The coating can be applied to battery cells, connectors, or housing interior surfaces. The sensor detects the emitted gas to trigger safety measures like disconnecting the battery.

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Battery system with forced gas flow circulation for reliable detection of abnormal conditions. The system has a closed loop of channels within the housing that circulates gas. Sensors detect excess gas concentrations indicative of issues. A battery management system monitors sensor signals to diagnose faults. If issues are detected, the BMS can disconnect the battery and warn the vehicle. This enables proactive failure prevention and mitigation by continuously monitoring the entire battery system instead of just voltage/current/temperature.

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