Cell-level hazard evaluation of 18650 form-factor Lithium-ion battery with different cathode materials

The thermal runaway process was studied in a Fire Propagation Apparatus (FPA) for three types of Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) of 18650 form-factor. Cathode materials are lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂, or LCO), lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3O₂, or NMC), and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄, or LFP). All batteries have a graphite anode and were at a 100% state-of-charge. Each LIB was externally heated to a thermal runaway event, with the heat input at constant values of 20.4 or 34.1 W, which yielded heating rates on the order of 1 K/s, representative of the thermal runaway propagation process. The mass loss fraction before the thermal runaway events and the maximum values are similar under different heat inputs for a given type of LIB. For different types of LIBs, the maximum mass loss fraction shows the trend of LCO>NMC>LFP. Under the same heating condition, NMC has the highest maximum surface temperature followed by LCO then LFP. A lumped heat transfer thermal runaway model is developed using two decomposition reactions and one internal short circuit reaction to model the internal heat generation. The effective model parameters are optimized using the measured surface temperature and mass loss fraction. The model is able to simulate the thermal runaway behavior of LIB under external heating conditions and reasonably matches the experimental data of LIBs with different cathodes. The model predicts that under the same heat input condition, the thermal runaway time of LCO is shorter than NMC and LFP; the effective average internal heat generations are 22.6, 20.2, and 11.5 kJ for LCO, NMC, and LFP, respectively. The thermal runaway model will be used to predict the thermal runaway propagation in a LIB module.     

A multi-step reaction model for ignition of fully-dense Al-CuO nanocomposite powders

A multi-step reaction model is developed to describe heterogeneous processes occurring upon heating of an Al-CuO nanocomposite material prepared by arrested reactive milling. The reaction model couples a previously derived Cabrera-Mott oxidation mechanism describing initial, low temperature processes and an aluminium oxidation model including formation of different alumina polymorphs at increased film thicknesses and higher temperatures. The reaction model is tuned using traces measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Ignition is studied for thin powder layers and individual particles using respectively the heated filament (heating rates of 10³–10⁴ K s^?1) and laser ignition (heating rate ～10⁶ K s^?1) experiments. The developed heterogeneous reaction model predicts a sharp temperature increase, which can be associated with ignition when the laser power approaches the experimental ignition threshold. In experiments, particles ignited by the laser beam are observed to explode, indicating a substantial gas release accompanying ignition. For the heated filament experiments, the model predicts exothermic reactions at the temperatures, at which ignition is observed experimentally; however, strong thermal contact between the metal filament and powder prevents the model from predicting the thermal runaway. It is suggested that oxygen gas release from decomposing CuO, as observed from particles exploding upon ignition in the laser beam, disrupts the thermal contact of the powder and filament; this phenomenon must be included in the filament ignition model to enable prediction of the temperature runaway.     

Heat-transfer processes upon laser heating of inert-matrix-hosted inclusions

A model to describe the heating of metal inclusions in inert media by a laser radiation pulse with allowance for the heat-transfer and melting processes in the matrix and inclusion materials is proposed. The time regularities of the heating of the matrix and inclusions were examined, and the dependences of the maximum temperature on the particle surface on the laser pulse energy density and on the particle radius were obtained. Approximate formulae for the maximum heating temperature and for the radius of most heated particles are proposed. We show that melting processes result in a reduction of the maximum heating temperature and in an insignificant variation of the radius of most heated particles.     

Research on pyrolysis of toluene under microwave heating by using ReaxFF molecular dynamics simulations

ReaxFF molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to study high-temperature pyrolysis of toluene under microwave heating. It is observed that the temperature of the reaction system under microwave heating has a rapidly rising stage, which is similar to the phenomenon of thermal runaway often appeared in reactions under microwave heating. Simulations indicate that the consumption rate of toluene and generating rates of H₂ and CH₄ obtained under microwave heating are always lower than those obtained under conventional heating at the early stage. Analyses of the pyrolysis of toluene show that ReaxFF MD simulations can provide an efficient way to study chemical reactions under microwave heating.     

Spatio-spectral analyses of electromagnetic wave energy absorption and heating effect

This study presents a theoretical analysis method to calculate electromagnetic (EM) wave power absorption spectrum of materials by using attenuation coefficients. The heating effect of EM waves is modeled to analyze spectral distribution of temperature rises inside material body as a result of EM wave power absorption. These analyses are very useful for the investigation of electromagnetic wave-material interaction on the bases of electro-physical material parameters (permittivity, permeability and conductivity). An illustrative analysis of spatio-spectral distribution of EM wave energy absorption and resulting heating effect were conducted for muscle tissues and the results are discussed.     

Simulation of continuous terahertz wave transient state thermal effects on static water

We report a numerical simulation of continuous terahertz beam induced transient thermal effects on static water. The terahertz wave used in this paper has a Gaussian beam profile. Based on the transient heat conduction equation, the finite element method (FEM) is utilized to calculate the temperature distribution. The simulation results show the dynamic process of temperature change in water during terahertz irradiation. After about 300 s, the temperature reaches a steady state with a water layer thickness of 5 mm and a beam radius of 0.25 mm. The highest temperature increase is 7 K/mW approximately. This work motivates further study on the interaction between terahertz wave and bio-tissue, which has a high water content.     

Kinetics of the oxidation of an electroexplosion iron nanopowder during heating in air

The regularities of the oxidation of electroexplosion iron nanopowder, produced by the wire electric explosion, heated in air under conditions of linearly increasing temperature and in the isothermal mode are examined. The oxidation process under conditions of linear heating is demonstrated to occur stepwise due to the combined influence of the fractional composition of the powder, its phase composition, and the structure of the oxide layer formed on the surface of the particles. It is shown that, under isothermal conditions (250–600°C), the oxidation of the nanopowder, as opposed to micron-sized powders, obeys a linear law and proceeds in the kinetic regime with E _a = 100 ± 7 kJ/mol. The conditions of thermogravimetry analysis at which the thermal self-ignition of the nanopowder occurs are determined. Based on the numerical evaluation of the sample surface heating parameter, the experimentally measured critical temperature is verified.     

Differential conductivity at the transverse runaway of hot electrons

Differential conductivity under the transverse runaway of hot electrons is investigated. Quasi-elastic scattering and electronic-temperature approximations are considered for equilibrium and heated phonon subsystem. In both approximations, the differential conductivity is shown to tend to infinity, keeping the sign. Phonon heating retards transverse runaway.     

HT-7 Tokamak离子回旋波和低杂波等离子体逃逸电子行为研究

HT-7 Tokamak拥有离子回旋波(ICRF)和低杂波(LHW)两套加热系统.ICRF主要对加热离子有比较好的加热效果,LHW则主要是通过电子Landau阻尼加热电子.除此之外,在ICRF和LHW协同加热的条件下,可以对等离子体产生更有效的加热效果,增加等离子体的聚变反应截面,增加聚变中子产额.本文报道了LHW对改善ICRF和等离子体耦合的重要作用,ICRF和LHW加热等离子体中电子温度随时间的演化过程,计算了放电过程中电子逃逸的阈值能量,分析了逃逸电子的产生过程,以及放电过程中的中子产额.研究结果发     

Analytical investigation into laser pulse heating and thermal stresses

Laser pulse heating of metallic surfaces results in rapid rise of temperature in the region irradiated by the laser beam. This in turn results in high temperature gradient in this region. The irradiated substrate material expands as a response to the temperature gradient. Consequently, high thermal stress levels are developed in the region of the high temperature gradient. In the present study, closed form solutions for temperature and stress fields due to a laser pulse decaying exponentially in time are presented. A Laplace transformation method is employed in the analysis. The resulting equations are non-dimensionalized with the appropriate parameters. It is found that temperature rises rapidly during the early heating period in the surface region. In this case, internal energy gain dominates the conduction losses from the surface vicinity. The thermal stress levels attain high values in the surface region. The stress wave developed is compressive and it propagates with a wave speed c₁ inside the substrate.     

Neutron emission from KSTAR Ohmically heated plasmas

An un-calibrated sensitive ³He detector was used to monitor the KSTAR neutron rate during Ohmically heated discharges. Neutrons were detected for every shot. If the neutrons were from D-D reactions then there should be a dependence on the ion temperature. We obtained ion temperature, electron density, Ohmic heating input power measurements, etc. from standard diagnostics. The study shows no observable dependence on the Ohmic power, ion temperature, or calculated source strength. It appears that the neutrons are from sources other than D-D reactions. The most probable source is high-energy runaway electrons.     

Bistable heating of solid samples immersed in liquid helium

A bistable heating of samples is found in liquid helium. Using the strong temperature dependence of the no-phonon doublet of the ⁴ T ₁(G) ⁶ A ₁(S) emission of the ZnSe:Cr⁺ centre, the temperature can be determined in the excited volume. Temperature jumps of about 5 K are recorded. The cause for the bistable crystal heating lies in the transition from the nucleate boiling to the film boiling state of the helium. In this process, the heat transfer is drastically reduced and thus the sample is further heated.     

Once upon a time,in the Soviet Union …

Radiation reaction (but, more generally, fluctuations and dissipation) occurs when a system interacts with a heat bath, a particular case being the interaction of an electron with the radiation field. We have developed a general theory for the case of a quantum particle in a general potential (but, in more detail, an oscillator potential) coupled to an arbitrary heat bath at arbitrary temperature, and in an external time-dependent c-number field. The results may be applied to a large variety of problems in physics but we concentrate by showing in detail the application to the blackbody radiation heat bath, giving an exact result for the radiation reaction problem which has no unsatisfactory features such as the runaway solutions associated with the Abraham–Lorentz theory. In addition, we show how atomic energy and free energy shifts due to temperature may be calculated. Finally, we give a brief review of applications to Josephson junctions, quantum statistical mechanics, mesoscopic physics, quantum information, noise in gravitational wave detectors, Unruh radiation and the violation of the quantum regression theorem.     

Fast,non-diffusive ignition of a gaseous reacting mixture subject to a point energy source

The ignition of a gaseous reactive mixture subject to a localized energy source is analysed using large activation energy asymptotics. The energy released by the source results in a thermal non-uniformity in a small region of the gas. We distinguish two different regimes, non-diffusive and diffusive, depending on the dominant cooling mechanism during the ignition stage: expansion effects or heat conduction. We focus on the non-diffusive ignition, considering the energy source as instantaneous. We show the existence of a critical value of a Damköhler number, defined as the ratio of the characteristic times of the expansion waves and chemical reaction, such that ignition only occurs for supercritical values at a well-defined ignition time, which is calculated numerically. The ignition process for a non-instantaneous energy source is also described in terms of an initial inert heating stage and a shorter reactive stage ending in thermal runaway for supercritical values of the Damköhler number.     

Laser-induced circumferential waves on hollow cylinder and their interaction with defects by finite element method

A three dimensional (3-D) finite element model for simulating laser induced circumferential wave on a hollow cylinder is developed based on the thermoelastical mechanism, which can take any laser source into account and simulate the interactions between circumferential wave and defects in the hollow cylinder. The model is verified by a control calculation. The results show that the waveforms of circumferential wave are in very good agreement with those available in literature, not only on the arrival time and shape but also on the amplitudes of A ₀, S ₀ and A₁ modes. Using the model, circumferential waves on the surfaces of two series hollow cylinders are simulated, one with same thickness but different outer radius, and the other with the same outer radius but different thickness. The results show that a new mode appears in circumferential wave, compared with Lamb wave in plate. With increase of thickness or radius, the amplitude of the new mode reduces. Another conclusion is that with increase of the thickness of the hollow cylinder, the circumferential wave evolves gradually to the cylindrical Rayleigh waveform, which results from the attenuation of the coupling effect between the outer and inner surface. Moreover, the circumferential waves generated on a hollow cylinder with a surface defect are also simulated, and the results indicate that in the circumferential waves obtained at the point beyond the defect, the amplitude of A ₀ mode decreases and its dispersion enhances. More importantly, a new bipolar waveform corresponding to the interaction of S ₀ mode with the defect appears, its amplitude is larger than three times of that of S ₀ mode. As a result, we consider that the new bipolar waveform will be the optimal feature to nondestructively detect the surface defect on the hollow cylinder.     

Spectral pyrometry of objects with a nonuniform temperature

The temperature of transparent gas flame (T ≈ 1900 K) is determined from the thermal radiation spectrum without using emittance data. The relation connecting the values of temperature calculated from the integrated spectrum of the entire glowing region of the flame with the maximal and arithmetic mean value is considered. Simulation is used to prove that the difference between the measured and maximal temperatures of a nonuniformly heated object in the Wien spectrum detection region does not exceed 10%.     

Spatially resolved measurements of ion heating during impulsive reconnection in the Madison Symmetric Torus

The impurity ion temperature evolution has been measured during three types of impulsive reconnection events in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch. During an edge reconnection event, the drop in stored magnetic energy is small and ion heating is observed to be limited to the outer half of the plasma. Conversely, during a global reconnection event the drop in stored magnetic energy is large, and significant heating is observed at all radii. For both kinds of events, the drop in magnetic energy is sufficient to explain the increase in ion thermal energy. However, not all types of reconnection lead to ion heating. During a core reconnection event, both the stored magnetic energy and impurity ion temperature remain constant. The results suggest that a drop in magnetic energy is required for ions to be heated during reconnection, and that when this occurs heating is localized near the reconnection layer.     

Calorimetric study of phase transitions in nanocomposites of quantum dots and a liquid crystal

The complex specific heat is measured over a wide temperature range for the liquid crystal (LC) 4-cyano-4-octylbiphenyl (8CB) and cadmium sulfate quantum dots (QDs) composites as a function of QD concentration. The thermal scans were performed under near-equilibrium conditions for all samples having QDs weight percent (φ_w) from 0 to 3wt% over a wide range of temperature well above and below the two transitions in pure 8CB. Isotropic (I) to nematic (N) and nematic to smectic-A (SmA) phase transitions evolve in character and their transition temperatures offset by (～2.3 to 2.6 K) lower for all composite samples as compared to that in pure 8CB. The enthalpy change associated with I–N phase transitions shows slightly different behavior on heating and cooling and it also shows crossover behavior at lower and higher QD content. The enthalpy change associated with N–SmA phase transitions is independent of QD loading and thermal treatment. Given the homogeneous and random distribution of QD in these nanocomposites, we interpret that these results as arising that the nematic phase imposes self-assembly on QDs to form one-dimensional arrays leading to QDs and induces net local disordering effect in LC media.     

Application of the planar laser-induced fluorescence method to determine the temperature field ofwater droplets under intensive heating

Presented are results of experimental investigations concerned with formation of a nonstationary and essentially nonuniform temperature field of a water droplet (initial radius of 1 mm to 2 mm) under intensive heating in a flow of heated air (from 50?C to 1000?C). The method used for this purpose was a noncontact optical planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) method. It is shown that temperature distribution in a water droplet is essentially inhomogeneous even under prolonged heating (to several tens of seconds). Reliability of the results of measurements by the noncontact PLIF method was analyzed by applying a group of fast miniature thermocouples. Restrictions of using the PLIF method for studying temperatures fields of evaporating droplets under high-temperature heating (over 800?C) were marked out. Characteristic times of droplet existence (complete evaporation) were determined. It was analyzed how the temperature difference in a water droplet affects this parameter during heating and intensive phase transitions. It was substantiated that it is expedient to consider essentially inhomogeneous and nonstationary temperature field of a water droplet inmathematical modeling of the heat andmass transfer processes in high-temperature gas–vapor-droplet systems (corresponding, e.g., to burning or heat cleaning of liquids, firefighting, production of composite and gaseous fuels, their combustion, etc.).     

Boundary layer and scaling properties in turbulent thermal convection

Summary We describe an experiment which has been designed to measure both spatial and temporal features of turbulent thermal convection in a fluid layer heated from below. Specifically we have studied the dependence of the heat flowvs. the Rayleigh number, the thermal boundary layer profile, the temperature probability distribution function, the frequency and wave number power spectra. All the results have been compared with recent theories. The relevant scales of the problem, the Bolgiano and dissipative lengths, are also computed as a function of control parameters.