Safety risk assessment for automotive battery pack based on deviation and outlier analysis of voltage inconsistency

Safety risk assessment is essential for evaluating the health status and averting sudden battery failures in electric vehicles. This study introduces a novel safety risk assessment approach for battery systems, addressing both cell and pack levels with three key indexes. The core of the assessment lies in representing the relative deviation of cell voltages through scatter diagrams across various stages of service life. Specifically, the study quantifies voltage deviations and deviation angles within different state of charge intervals to gauge safety risks at the cell level. Leveraging clustering algorithms aids in identifying outlier values. Furthermore, the dispersion of scatter points is utilized to assess safety risks at the pack level. Validation of this proposed model is conducted through cycling tests on battery modules with a deformed cell, demonstrating its efficacy in capturing inconsistent features of mechanical deformation abuse across the three indexes, thereby triggering alarms during operation. Moreover, the method is applied to assess the safety risks of five hazardous and accident-prone vehicles, enabling comprehensive evaluation of potential faulty cells and safety risks at the pack level. This proposed approach offers a fresh perspective on the comprehensive safety risk assessment of battery systems.