Abuse Testing

Thermal Runaway Initiation and Propagation

We employ various methods to induce thermal runaway and evaluate the battery’s response and the potential for propagation to neighboring cells or modules:

• Oven Testing: Subjecting batteries to elevated temperatures to assess thermal stability and identify the onset of thermal runaway.
• Heater Initiation: Applying localized heat to simulate internal shorts or external heat sources.
• Cell Overcharge: Exposing a cell to overcharging to trigger thermal runaway. On a module/pack level, tests often include customization of a module or building a purposely modified module from scratch. For CID-equipped cells, CID deactivation is essential to perform the test.

Mechanical Abuse

We evaluate the battery’s resistance to physical damage that could lead to internal shorts or other safety hazards:

• Nail Penetration: Forcing a nail or pin through the battery to simulate internal short circuits caused by foreign object intrusion.
• Crush Testing: Applying controlled pressure to assess the battery’s ability to withstand mechanical deformation.
• Impact Testing: Subjecting batteries to sudden impacts to simulate drop events or collisions.

Electrical Abuse

We simulate electrical faults to assess the battery’s protection mechanisms and its behavior under abnormal electrical conditions:

• Overcharge: Applying excessive voltage beyond the recommended charging limits to evaluate the BMS response and the battery’s inherent safety features.
• Over-discharge: Discharging the battery below its recommended voltage limit to evaluate the BMS response and assess potential damage and safety risks.
• External Short Circuit: Creating a low-resistance path across the battery terminals to evaluate its ability to safely handle short-circuit currents.
• Partial Short Circuit: Creating a short circuit just under the fuse rating to assess the battery’s max thermal handling capabilities and safety features of the BMS.