Demonstration of Experimental Infrastructure for Studying Cell-to-Cell Failure Propagation in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract : A 5 cubic meter decompression chamber was repurposed as a test chamber to conduct failure abuse experiments on commercial 18650-type lithium-ion batteries. Various modifications were performed to enable remote control and monitoring of chamber functions, along with collection of data from instrumentation during tests including high speed and infrared cameras, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, real-time gas analyzers, and compact reconfigurable input and output devices. Single- and multi-cell packages of LiCoO2 and LiFePO4 chemistry 18650 lithium-ion batteries were constructed and data was obtained and analyzed for abuse and failure tests. Observations from recorded camera videos, thermocouples, heat flux gauges, and gas analyses revealed qualitative insights into failure mechanisms and heat propagation from cell to cell. Future directions based on these observations are also proposed.

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