Self-actuating protection mechanisms for safer lithium-ion batteries

Safety issue is still a problem nowadays for the large-scale application of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)in electric vehicles and energy storage stations.The unsafe behaviors of LIBs arise from the thermal run-away,which is intrinsically triggered by the overcharging and overheating.To improve the safety of LIBs,various protection strategies based on self-actuating reaction control mechanisms(SRCMs)have been proposed,including redox shuttle,polymerizable monomer additive,potential-sensitive separator,thermal shutdown separator,positive-temperature-coefficient electrode,thermally polymerizable addi-tive,and reversible thermal phase transition electrolyte.As build-in protection mechanisms,these meth-ods can sensitively detect either the temperature change inside battery or the potential change of the electrode,and spontaneously shut down the electrode reaction at risky conditions,thus preventing the battery from going into thermal runaway.Given their advantages in enhancing the intrinsic safety of LIBs,this paper overviews the research progresses of SRCMs after a brief introduction of thermal runaway mechanism and limitations of conventional thermal runaway mitigating measures.More importantly,the current states and issues,key challenges,and future developing trends of SRCTs are also discussed and outlined from the viewpoint of practical application,aiming at providing insights and guidance for developing more effective SRCMs for LIBs.

Thermally insulating and fire-retardant bio-mimic structural composites with a negative Poisson's ratio for battery protection

Battery safety has attracted considerable attention worldwide due to the rapid development of wearable electronics and the steady increase in the production and use of electric vehicles.As battery failures are often associated with mechanical-thermal coupled behaviors,protective shielding materials with excellent mechanical robustness and flame-retardant properties are highly desired to mitigate thermal runaway.However,most of the thermal insulating materials are not strong enough to protect batteries from mechanical abuse,which is one of the most critical scenarios with catastrophic consequences.Here,inspired by wood,we have developed an effective approach to engineer a hierarchical nanocomposite via self-assembly of calcium silicate hydrate and polyvinyl alcohol polymer chains(referred as CSH wood).The versatile protective material CSH wood demonstrates an unprecedented combination of light weight(0.018 g cm-3),high stiffness(204 MPa in the axial direction),negative Poisson's ratio(-0.15),remarkable toughness(6.67×105 J m-3),superior thermal insulation(0.0204 W m-1 K-1 in the radial direction),and excellent fire retardancy(UL94-V0).When applied as a protective cover or a protective layer within battery packages,the tough CSH wood can resist high-impact load and block heat diffusion to block or delay the spread of fire,therefore significantly reducing the risk of property damage or bodily injuries caused by battery explosions.This work provides new pathways for fabricating advanced thermal insulating materials with large scalability and demonstrates great potential for the protection of electronic devices.

Establishment and Optimization of Ablation Surrogate Model for Thermal Protection Material

The temperature response calculation of thermal protection materials,especially ablative thermal protection materials,usually adopts the ablation model,which is complicated in process and requires a large amount of calculation.Especially in the process of optimization calculation and parameter identification,the ablation model needs to be called many times,so it is necessary to construct an ablation surrogate model to improve the computational efficiency under the premise of ensuring the accuracy.In this paper,the Gaussian process model method is used to construct a thermal protection material ablation surrogate model,and the prediction accuracy of the surrogate model is improved through optimization.

Experimental demonstration of a new concept of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles

A new idea of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles is proposed based on the combination of a physical spike and lateral jets for shockreconstruction. The spike recasts the bow shock in front of a blunt body into a conical shock, and the lateral jets work to protect the spike tip from overheating and to push the conical shock away from the blunt body when a pitching angle exists during flight. Experiments are conducted in a hypersonic wind tunnel at a nominal Mach number of 6. It is demonstrated that the shock/shock interaction on the blunt body is avoided due to injection and the peak pressure at the reattachment point is reduced by 70% under a 4° attack angle.

Numerical investigation on properties of attack angle for an opposing jet thermal protection system

The three-dimensional Navier Stokes equation and the k-ε viscous model are used to simulate the attack angle characteristics of a hemisphere nose-tip with an opposing jet thermal protection system in supersonic flow conditions. The numerical method is validated by the relevant experiment. The flow field parameters, aerodynamic forces, and surface heat flux distributions for attack angles of 0°, 2°, 5°, 7°, and 10° are obtained. The detailed numerical results show that the cruise attack angle has a great influence on the flow field parameters, aerodynamic force, and surface heat flux distribution of the supersonic vehicle nose-tip with an opposing jet thermal protection system. When the attack angle reaches 10°, the heat flux on the windward generatrix is close to the maximal heat flux on the wall surface of the nose-tip without thermal protection system, thus the thermal protection has failed.

Research progress on thermal protection materials and structures of hypersonic vehicles

Hypersonic vehicles represent future trends of military equipments and play an important role in future war. Thermal protection materials and structures, Which relate to the safety of hypersonic vehicles, are one of the most key techniques in design and manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. Among these materials and Structures, such as metallic temperature protection structure, the temperature ceramics and carbon/carbon composites are usually adopted in design. The recent progresses of research and applica- tion of ultra-high temperature materials in preparation, oxidation resistance, mechanical and physical characterization are summarized.

Innovative Design and Additive Manufacturing of Regenerative Cooling Thermal Protection System Based on the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Porous Structure

The new regenerative cooling thermal protection system exhibits the multifunctional characteristics of load-carrying and heat exchange cooling,which are fundamental for the lightweight design and thermal protection of hypersonic vehicles.Triply periodic minimal surface(TPMS)is especially suitable for the structural design of the internal cavity of regenerative cooling structures owing to its excellent structural characteristics.In this study,test pieces were manufactured using Ti6Al4V lightweight material.We designed three types of porous test pieces,and the interior was filled with a TPMS lattice(Gyroid,Primitive,I-WP)with a porosity of 30%.All porous test pieces were manufactured via selective laser melting technology.A combination of experiments and finite element simulations were performed to study the selection of the internal cavity structure of the regenerative cooling thermal protection system.Hence,the relationship between the geometry and mechanical properties of a unit cell is established,and the deformation mechanism of the porous unit cell is clarified.Among the three types of porous test pieces,the weight of the test piece filled with the Gyroid unit cell was reduced by 8.21%,the average tensile strength was reduced by 17.7%compared to the solid test piece,while the average tensile strength of the Primitive and I-WP porous test pieces were decreased by 30.5%and 33.3%,respectively.Compared with the other two types of unit cells,Gyroid exhibited better mechanical conductivity characteristics.Its deformation process was characterised by stretching,shearing,and twisting,while the Primitive and I-WP unit cells underwent tensile deformation and tensile and shear deformation,respectively.The finite element predictions in the study agree well with the experimental results.The results can provide a basis for the design of regenerative cooling thermal protection system.

Effect of Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Protective Performance of the Multi-layered Fabrics Examined by TPP Tester under Flash Fire

Cotton fabrics treated with phase change materials( PCMs)were used in multi-layered fabrics of the fire fighter protective clothing to study its effect on thermal protection. The thermal protective performance( TPP) of the multi-layered fabrics was measured by a TPP tester under flash fire. Results showed that the utilization of the PCM fabrics improved the thermal protective performance of the multi-layered fabrics. The fabric with a PCM add on of 41. 9% increased the thermal protection by 50. 6% and reduced the time to reach a second degree burn by 8. 4 s compared with the reference fabrics( without PCMs). The employment of the PCM fabrics also reduced the blackened areas on the inner layers. The PCM fabrics with higher PCM melting temperature could bring higher thermal protective performance.

Editorial: Special subject on the mechanical behavior of thermal protection materials and structures

The thermal protection materials and structures are widely used in hypersonic vehicles for the purpose of thermal insulation, and their mechanical behavior is one of the key issues in design and manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. It is our great pleasure to present the seven papers in this special subject of Theoretical ＆ Applied Mechanics Letters （TAML） and introduce the recent progresses on the mechanical behavior of thermal protection materials and structures by the authors.

Application of high temperature heat pipe in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection

In order to develop further the application of high temperature heat pipe in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection,the principles and characteristics of high temperature heat pipe used in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection were introduced.The methods of numerical simulation,theory analysis and experiment research were utilized to analyze the frozen start-up and steady state characteristic of the heat pipe as well as the machining improvement for fabricating irregularly shaped heat pipe which is suitable for leading edge of hypersonic vehicles.The results indicate that the frozen start-up time of heat pipe is long(10 min) and there exists large temperature difference along the heat pipe(47 °C/cm),but the heat pipe can reduce the temperature in stagnation area of hypersonic vehicles from 1 926 to 982 °C and work normally during 1 000-1 200°C.How to improve the maximum heat transfer capability and reduce the time needed for start-up from frozen state of the heat pipe by optimizing thermostructure such as designing of a novel wick with high performance is the key point in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection of heat pipe.

Two Degree-of-Freedom Dynamic Theoretical Model on Tile Thermal Protection System

In order to study the dynamic behaviors of the thermal protection system(TPS)and dynamic strength of the strain-isolation-pad(SIP),a two degree-of-freedom dynamic theoretical model is presented under the acoustic excitation and base excitation. The tile and SIP are both considered as the elastic body and simplified as a mass point,a linear spring and a damping element. The theoretical solutions are derived,and the reasonability of theoretical model is verified by comparing the theoretical results with the numerical results. Finally,the influences on the dynamic responses of TPS by the structural damping coefficient of TPS,elasticity modulus and thickness of SIP are analyzed.The results show that the material with higher damping,and SIP with thicker size and lower elastic modulus should be considered to reduce the dynamic responses and intensify the security of TPS. The researches provide a theoretical reference for studying the dynamic behaviors of TPS and the dynamic strength of SIP. Besides,the dynamic theoretical model can be used as a quick analysis tool for analyzing the dynamic responses of TPS during the initial design phase.

Thermal features of Qinghai-Tibet Railway Embankment with Crushed-stone Slope Protection in Permafrost Regions

The Embankment with Crushed-Stone Slope Protection(ECSSP) in permafrost regions is an effective measure to cool subgrade and protect permafrost.It can mitigate the engineering hazards of the Qinghai-Tibet railway in the permafrost regions. Considering the influence of the noctumal cold air during summer months in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau。

Comparison of Thermo-Structural Responses for Integrated Thermal Protection Panels with Different Corrugated Core Configurations

To explore new light-weight integrated thermal protection system panel configuration and gain good insight into the responses mechanism,heat transfer and structural field analysis for one single-layer and four double-layer corrugated core panels were performed. The obtained the temperature,buckling,stress and deflection responses were compared,and the deflection and stress distributions as well as thermal buckling mode at the time were discussed for the considered configurations when the temperature difference between the top and bottom face sheet was maximum. The results demonstrated that the non-orthogonal and hat-stiffened double-layer structures provide superior performance to resist thermal buckling deformation in comparison with other configurations. The useful information is provided for the forthcoming optimization in which thermal buckling is considered as critical design driver.

Medium-term and Long-term Environmental Economic Policies on Thermal Power Industry in China Seen from the New Environment Protection Law

In the newly revised Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China that has been implemented since January 1,2015,there is a lot of emphasis on environmental economic policies. In this paper,according to the current situation of environmental pollution and protection in thermal power industry,it is proposed that based on the new environmental protection law,it is needed to study various environmental economic policies on thermal power industry and analyze the effects on environmental cost of thermal power enterprises at the macro level. At the micro level,it is necessary to control environmental cost of thermal power enterprises effectively,and establish a suitable environmental management system for environmental economic policies including environmental cost accounting and trading of emission rights,thereby improving environmental management level of thermal power enterprises.

Porous Ultra-high Temperature Ceramics for Ultra-high Temperature Thermal Protection System

Ultra-high temperature ceramics(UHTCs)are a family of borides,carbides and nitrides of transition elements such as hafnium,zirconium,tantalum and niobium.They exhibit the highest known melting points,good mechanical strength,good chemical and thermal stability under certain conditions.In last decade,researchers dedicated to characterize porous UHTCs aiming to develop novel thermal insulating materials that could withstand temperatures over 2000℃.In this article,the preparation and characteristics of porous UHTCs were reviewed.Dry processing,colloidal processing and solution processing routes have been used to prepare porous UHTCs with porosities ranging from 5%to 97%and pore sizes ranging from hundreds of nanometers to hundreds of micrometers.The obtained porous UHTCs are chemically and dimensionally stable at temperatures up to 2000℃ during static state high-temperature thermal aging.

Thermal and Structural Behaviour of Offshore Structures with Passive Fire Protection

In offshore structures,hydrocarbon fires cause the structure to loose its rigidity rapidly and this leads to structural integrity and stability problems.The Passive Fire Protection(PFP)system slows the transfer rate of fire heat and helps to prevent the collapse of structures and human losses.The vital design factors are decided in the detailed design stage.The determined design thickness must be accurately applied in the fabrication yard.However,there are many cases that the PFP is overused because of various reasons.This excessive application of the PFP is an unavoidable problem.Several studies have been conducted on the efficient application and optimal design of the PFP.However,the strength of the PFP has not been considered.In addition,research studies on the correlation between the thickness of the PFP and the structural behaviour are not widely available.Therefore,this study attempts to analyse the thermal and mechanical effects of the PFP on the structure when it is applied to the structural member.In particular,it is intended to determine the change in the behaviour of the structural member as the thickness of the PFP increases.

TPS法测定泡沫铜/石蜡复合相变材料热物性

运用瞬态平面热源法(Transient Plane Source-TPS)对4种孔隙率的泡沫铜/石蜡复合材料热物性进行了测量。以10μm厚的镍金属按双螺旋线布置作为测量探头。泡沫铜材料孔隙率分别为ε=97.79%、ε=96.17%、ε=94.94%和ε=93.26%,经线切割加工后向内灌入液态石蜡,凝固后作为测试样品。在室温(25±1℃)和常压下对复合材料的等效导热系数、热容及热扩散率进行了测量。测试结果表明:复合材料导热系数和热扩散率因泡沫铜的加入而大幅提高,在孔隙率ε=93.26%时,等效导热系数已达到单纯石蜡的25倍,而复合材料等效热容则由于铜金属加入的绝对量较少相对原石蜡热容变化较小。以比例加成的方法对泡沫铜/石蜡复合材料的等效热容进行了计算,并利用实验数据拟合了其等效导热系数的计算公式,运用这些公式对复合材料物性的计算结果与实验结果非常吻合。

金属TPS蜂窝盖板的热梯度诱导变形计算

建立了蜂窝结构的一维传热模型,给出了其热梯度诱导变形计算公式。同时,计算了某高温合金六角蜂窝结构的热变形,认为在设计金属TPS的蜂窝盖板时,必须考虑其特定服役环境下的热变形。