Probing Battery Safety Hazards Using Calorimetric Techniques
Bret Schumacher, Earth and Environmental Engineering
Abstract: Since their invention in the 1980s, alkali-ion batteries, especially the lithium-ion battery, have become the dominant choice in electrified technologies ranging from small portable electronics to e-mobility devices to large stationary storage systems. As performance has been optimized and prices have decreased, the demand for these devices has skyrocketed, especially in dense urban areas where personal e-mobility devices have become an efficient mode of travel. An unfortunate consequence of the adoption of these devices is the increasing amount of reported failure events resulting in fires and explosions, affecting lives and damaging property. Understanding the underlying mechanism of battery failure is critical to future design and use of these systems. In this presentation, I will discuss calorimetric and lab-scale, cost aware experimental designs to test different abuse scenarios to provide a better framework to determine critical safety parameters, enabling safer battery design.
