Numerical Study on the External Impact on Electric Vehicle (EV) Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are reported as the most common batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) due to their long service life, environmentally friendly characteristics, high energy and power density, high energy efficiency, decent high-temperature performance, and low self-discharge. However, LIBs can become a source of danger for drivers and passengers under certain circumstances, such as when a mechanical, electrical, or thermal failure occurs. The failure may end with a thermal runaway, resulting in an explosion, smoke, or fire. Therefore, it is essential to determine the level of safety when using batteries in EVs. In this paper, the external impact on Lithium-ion batteries attached to a vehicle model was investigated numerically. A battery pack consisting of twelve battery modules with dimensions of 456 mm length, 274 mm width, and 71 mm height was placed in the Toyota Camry 2015 car model. Each battery module contains 417 LIB cylindrical cells. As per the Euro New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), the vehicle model was impacted on a 254 mm diameter rigid pole at 32 km/h. The results revealed that only the battery cells directly subjected to the impact suffered significant damage, while the other cells had no major deformation. The total energy absorbed by the battery componentswas 2.94 MJ,while themaximum transient penetration was 79.23 mm. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.