Effects of Reference Performance Testing During Aging Using Commercial Cells

The Advanced Technology Development Program, under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Energy’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program, is investigating lithium-ion batteries for hybrid-electric vehicle applications. Cells are aged under various test conditions, including temperatures and states-of-charge. Life testing is interrupted at regular intervals to conduct reference performance tests (RPTs), which are used to measure changes in the electrical performance of the cells and then to determine cell degradation as a function of test time. Although designed to be unobtrusive, data from the Advanced Technology Development Gen 2 cells indicated that RPTs actually contributed to cell degradation and failure. A study was performed at the Idaho National Laboratory using commercially available lithium-ion cells to determine the impact of RPTs on life. A series of partial RPTs were performed at regular intervals during life testing and compared to a control group that was life tested without RPT interruption. It was determined that certain components of the RPT were detrimental, while others appeared to improve cell performance. Consequently, a new "mini" RPT was designed as an unobtrusive alternative. Initial testing with commercial cells indicates that the impact of the mini RPT is significantly less than the Gen 2 cell RPT.