Although electric cars are considerably safer than their internal combustion counterparts - especially when it comes to catching fire in case of accidents. That said, there have been numerous cases of lithium ion batteries getting punctured and catching fire too - especially in recent times and of course, those have been on the receiving end of great criticism globally. A recent crash that involved a Tesla Model S faced a similar issue so in order to try and avoid similar occurrences, the electric automaker has now filed a new patent in order to make Li-On batteries a lot safer and thereby minimising the risk of a fire.
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The new system will essentially isolate the damaged cells in order for them not to affect the whole battery pack. In case of damage, the battery cells usually end up getting ruptured and release hot gasses that can damage nearby cells. Ruptured cells, due to an uncontrolled chemical reaction will also exude heat and create high pressure situations that affect cells around them and thereby causing a chain reaction that in turn affects the whole battery pack.
According to the patent, the new system has a feature or a material that will insulate battery cells from heat generated by surrounding battery cells. The material used will most likely be some sort of new age polymer. The system will also have cooled plates or 'heat pipes' that will help remove the heat generated from battery cells in general and also that generated from damaged battery cells. Other tech will involve air gaps between cells for cooling, a sleeve that will hold the system in place and a feature that will help direct hot gasses discharging from a damaged cell in a particular direction away from other working cells.
Of course, apart from making battery packs safer for electric cars, what this will also do will help improve cooling of the battery packs in hotter running conditions or hotter climates in order to ensure optimal running temperatures. A cooler battery pack stores and dissipates energy much better.
