Unconventional Experimental Setups for Battery Analysis

Abstract

Battery failure analysis at the individual component level is necessary to understand performance and to identify failure mechanisms, but due to the complexity of the interactions between all components of the cell, one cannot simply study one component in isolation and assume that the complete cell will behave as a simple amalgam of individual components.

This work presents three projects, all of which involve nonstandard experimental setups for flexible, versatile testing of batteries under various conditions. First is an exploration of how a thermal environment affects the behavior of four different types of lithium ion cells–LCO-graphite and LFP-graphite in both pouch and cylinder forms, to understand the effect of battery self heating and whether one can leverage it to increase performance. Second is an X-Ray tomography analysis of primary alkaline cells of various brands that were discharged at three different temperatures, to non-invasively study the morphology and material homogeneity of primary cell under discharge. Third is a demonstration of simultaneous X-Ray imaging and ultrasound analysis of a lithium ion cell undergoing discharge at different rates, in an effort to correlate ultrasound signal evolution with physical phenomenon.