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Title: Tracking Internal Temperature and Structural Dynamics during Nail Penetration of Lithium-Ion Cells

Abstract

Mechanical abuse of lithium-ion batteries is widely used during testing to induce thermal runaway, characterize associated risks, and expose cell and module vulnerabilities. But, the repeatability of puncture or 'nail penetration' tests is a key issue as there is often a high degree of variability in the resulting thermal runaway process. Here, the failure mechanisms of 18650 cells punctured at different locations and orientations are characterized with respect to their internal structural degradation, and both their internal and surface temperature, all of which are monitored in real time. The initiation and propagation of thermal runaway is visualized via high-speed synchrotron X-ray radiography at 2000 frames per second, and the surface and internal temperatures are recorded via infrared imaging and a thermocouple embedded in the tip of the penetrating nail, respectively. The influence of the nail, as well as how and where it penetrates the cell, on the initiation and propagation of thermal runaway is described and the suitability of this test method for representing in-field failures is discussed.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. College London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center
  2. Univ. College London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  3. European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRP), Grenoble (France)
  4. National Physical Lab., Middlesex (United Kingdom)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
British Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
OSTI Identifier:
1412833
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5400-68877
Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651; TRN: US1800370
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of the Electrochemical Society
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 164; Journal Issue: 13; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651
Publisher:
The Electrochemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
25 ENERGY STORAGE; lithium ion batteries; nail penetration; x-ray imaging

Citation Formats

Finegan, Donal P., Tjaden, Bernhard, M. M. Heenan, Thomas, Jervis, Rhodri, Michiel, Marco Di, Rack, Alexander, Hinds, Gareth, Brett, Dan J. L., and Shearing, Paul R. Tracking Internal Temperature and Structural Dynamics during Nail Penetration of Lithium-Ion Cells. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1149/2.1501713jes.
Finegan, Donal P., Tjaden, Bernhard, M. M. Heenan, Thomas, Jervis, Rhodri, Michiel, Marco Di, Rack, Alexander, Hinds, Gareth, Brett, Dan J. L., & Shearing, Paul R. Tracking Internal Temperature and Structural Dynamics during Nail Penetration of Lithium-Ion Cells. United States. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1501713jes
Finegan, Donal P., Tjaden, Bernhard, M. M. Heenan, Thomas, Jervis, Rhodri, Michiel, Marco Di, Rack, Alexander, Hinds, Gareth, Brett, Dan J. L., and Shearing, Paul R. 2017. "Tracking Internal Temperature and Structural Dynamics during Nail Penetration of Lithium-Ion Cells". United States. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1501713jes. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1412833.
@article{osti_1412833,
title = {Tracking Internal Temperature and Structural Dynamics during Nail Penetration of Lithium-Ion Cells},
author = {Finegan, Donal P. and Tjaden, Bernhard and M. M. Heenan, Thomas and Jervis, Rhodri and Michiel, Marco Di and Rack, Alexander and Hinds, Gareth and Brett, Dan J. L. and Shearing, Paul R.},
abstractNote = {Mechanical abuse of lithium-ion batteries is widely used during testing to induce thermal runaway, characterize associated risks, and expose cell and module vulnerabilities. But, the repeatability of puncture or 'nail penetration' tests is a key issue as there is often a high degree of variability in the resulting thermal runaway process. Here, the failure mechanisms of 18650 cells punctured at different locations and orientations are characterized with respect to their internal structural degradation, and both their internal and surface temperature, all of which are monitored in real time. The initiation and propagation of thermal runaway is visualized via high-speed synchrotron X-ray radiography at 2000 frames per second, and the surface and internal temperatures are recorded via infrared imaging and a thermocouple embedded in the tip of the penetrating nail, respectively. The influence of the nail, as well as how and where it penetrates the cell, on the initiation and propagation of thermal runaway is described and the suitability of this test method for representing in-field failures is discussed.},
doi = {10.1149/2.1501713jes},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1412833}, journal = {Journal of the Electrochemical Society},
issn = {0013-4651},
number = 13,
volume = 164,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Tue Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

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Cited by: 69 works
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Works referenced in this record:

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journal, August 2011


An electrochemical modeling of lithium-ion battery nail penetration
journal, April 2014


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Works referencing / citing this record:

New Insights into Nail Penetration of Li‐Ion Batteries: Effects of Heterogeneous Contact Resistance
journal, July 2019


The indentation analysis triggering internal short circuit of lithium-ion pouch battery based on shape function theory
journal, May 2018


4D imaging of lithium-batteries using correlative neutron and X-ray tomography with a virtual unrolling technique
journal, February 2020


A Coupled Electrochemical-Thermal Failure Model for Predicting the Thermal Runaway Behavior of Lithium-Ion Batteries
journal, January 2018


Experimental Analysis of Thermal Runaway Propagation Risk within 18650 Lithium-Ion Battery Modules
journal, January 2018


Analysis on the Fault Features for Internal Short Circuit Detection Using an Electrochemical-Thermal Coupled Model
journal, January 2018


Review—Understanding the Thermal Runaway Behavior of Li-Ion Batteries through Experimental Techniques
journal, January 2019