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Enhanced hazard characterization of lithium-ion batteries subject to destructive overcharge conditions

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Abstract

During a failure event, electrochemical cells can exhibit such characteristics as extreme high temperatures, deflagration, fire, venting of electrolyte and rapid uncontrolled disassembly. The cell’s characteristics prior to, during, and after a destructive event are important in developing preventive and mitigating hazard steps. A novel measuring system based on isothermal calorimetry has been developed and utilized to further understand the worst-case event produced by large format electrochemical cells. This system allows for the containment of the reaction and its products while measuring the pressure and release rate of the gaseous product, as well as a complete thermal profile of the reaction. This paper provides a description of the calorimeter, calibration test results on its performance, test results, and empirical model from a selection of cells tested. The cells utilized in this developmental testing were Lithium Iron Phosphate and Lithium Cobalt Oxide cells ranging from 6 to 38 Ampere hour capacities and approximately 40 mm diameter, 170 mm height, and 0.35 kg each. This analytical system allows for a wide range of cells, chemistries, failure mechanisms and testing environments for lithium-ion cells, static or under load. Empirical models developed from this flexible and adaptive system will enable researchers to compare larger samples across material property boundaries to better predict the outcome of destructive chemical reactions.

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Abbreviations

LiFePO4 :

Lithium iron phosphate

LiCoO2 :

Lithium cobalt oxide

SOC:

State of charge

Watt’s Law:

Power (W) = Voltage * Current (A)

Ohm’s Law:

Voltage = Current * Resistance

DOD:

Department of defense

Ahr:

Ampere hour

V:

Voltage

NSWC:

Naval surface warfare center

CID:

Current interrupt device

ISO:

International organization for standardization

NIST:

National institute of standards and technology

SEI:

Solid electrolyte interphase

LIB:

Lithium-ion battery

NEW:

Net explosive mass

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Acknowledgements

This research has been advanced with the assistance of the NSWC Crane Power and Energy Division, Specialized Munitions Division, Purdue University and Cranfield University as part of the Masters of Defense Engineering and Technology program with specialization in expeditionary warfare. VGP thanks to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for supporting the work under the grant N00014-18-1-2397 with special thanks to Dr. Michele Anderson.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), 300 Highway 361, Crane, IN, 47522, USA

    Ryan Ubelhor, Cassie N. Hopkins, Christopher D. Hacker & Badruddin Pirani

  2. Crane Division, Science Applications International Corporation, 300 Highway 361, Crane, IN, 47522, USA

    Daniel Ellison

  3. Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA

    Vilas G. Pol

Authors
  1. Ryan Ubelhor
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  2. Daniel Ellison
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  3. Cassie N. Hopkins
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  4. Christopher D. Hacker
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  5. Badruddin Pirani
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  6. Vilas G. Pol
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Contributions

RU contributed to lead investigator, equipment design, construction, experimentation, data analysis, and manuscript generation. DE contributed to advisory equipment design, construction, author passed away after experimentation but before manuscript generation. CNH contributed to experimentation. CDH contributed to sample management, test site logistics, and customer requirements interface. BP contributed to programmatic resourcing, customer advocate requiring test data for future modeling and VGP contributed to program advisor, manuscript review, and consultation of relevance outside of defense sector.

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Correspondence to Ryan Ubelhor.

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Ubelhor, R., Ellison, D., Hopkins, C.N. et al. Enhanced hazard characterization of lithium-ion batteries subject to destructive overcharge conditions. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 5403–5421 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12094-4

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