Measuring Energy Release of Lithium-Ion Battery Failure Using a Bomb Calorimeter

Details

• Creators:
  Walters, Richard N. ; Lyon, Richard E.
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Air Cargo Calorimeters Fires Lithium Batteries Thermal Runaway
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/TC-15/40
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center
• Abstract:
  The high energy density of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) makes safe shipment as cargo on commercial aircraft a concern because of the potential for initiating or accelerating a fire. LIB failure caused by overheating, mechanical damage, or manufacturing defects results in rapid thermal energy release (thermal runaway), ejection of the cell contents, and the possibility of conflagration, burning, or explosion of the volatile organic electrolytes. Full-scale cargo fire tests at the Federal Aviation Administration have shown that these risks can be mitigated when LIBs are shipped at reduced electrical capacity (state-of-charge [SOC]). To quantify the safety benefit of shipping at reduced SOC, experiments were conducted using a bomb calorimeter to determine the relationship between the SOC of the LIB; its cell potential (volts) and electrical capacity (Coulombs); and the release of stored chemical energy during failure. Commercial LIBs in the form of single cylinders 18 mm in diameter and 65 mm long (18650 cells) were forced into failure in the bomb calorimeter using electrical resistance heating in a nitrogen atmosphere to preclude oxidation of the cell components. Data were collected for the release of stored energy as a function of electrical capacity and cell potential, and the composition of the combustible gases released during failure was determined by infrared spectroscopy. These studies showed that the stored electrochemical energy, which is the product of the actual charge and cell potential, is a better predictor of the energy release at failure than the fraction of the maximum rated charge capacity (SOC).
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  FAA Fire Safety FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:779c5768852e851076789a76289106a6b01d24e5c47934109a070788a2689fbedb72c511d30059e5b1be840adea2668809942939c2b2502c3e881f71d3ad4e76
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57644/dot_57644_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 950.47 KB ]