Investigation of lithium-thionyl chloride battery safety hazards. Final report 28 Sep 81-31 Dec 82
In the ten years since the feasibility of a lithium-thionyl chloride cell was first recognized (1) remarkable progress has been made in hardware development. Cells as large as 16,000 Ah (2) and batteries of 10.8 MWh (3) have been demonstrated. In a low rate configuration, energy densities of 500 to 600 Wh/kg are easily achieved. Even in the absence of reported explosions, safety would be a concern for such a dense energetic package; the energy density of a lithium-thionyl chloride cell is approaching that of dynamite (924 Wh/kg). In fact explosions have occurred. In general the hazards associated with lithium-thionyl chloride batteries may be divided into four categories: Explosions as a result of an error in battery design. Very large cells were in prototype development prior to a full appreciation of the hazards of the system. It is possible that some of the remaining safety issues are related to cell design; Explosions as a result of external physical abuse such as cell incineration and puncture; Explosions due to short circuiting which could lead to thermal runaway reactions. These problems appear to have been solved by changes in the battery design (4); and Expolsions due to abnormal electrical operation (i.e., charging (5) and overdischarging (6) and in partially or fully discharged cells on storage (7 and 8).
- Research Organization:
- Gould, Inc., Rolling Meadows, IL (USA). Materials Lab.; Illinois Univ., Chicago (USA). Dept. of Chemistry
- OSTI ID:
- 5866435
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-128382/9
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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