Thursday, December 6, 2012
8:00 Registration, Exhibit Viewing/Poster Setup, Coffee and Pastries
8:50 Organizer’s Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:00 Safety Improvements of Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes that Incorporate Carbon Nanotubes
Brian J. Landi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology
The safety of traditional cathode and anode composites has been improved using single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as a conductive additive replacement. A 30-40% reduction in exothermic reaction energy has been measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for overcharge conditions. Such analysis is extended to high capacity Ge and Si-SWCNT electrodes where proper reduction in the surface area along with the high thermal conductivity of SWCNTs results in similar benefit.
9:30 Thermal Decomposition Pathway of Delithiated Cathodes
Zonghai Chen, Chemist, Electrochemical Energy Storage Group, Chemical Sciences & Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory
Thermal decomposition of delithiated cathodes has drawn major attention due to its contribution to the thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries. In situ high energy X-ray diffraction was deployed to investigate the mechanism of thermal decomposition of delithiated cathodes. The impact of materials composition as well as electrolytes will be discussed in this talk.
10:00 Cells’ and Battery Safety in High-End Applications
Malgorzata (Maggie) Gulbinska, PhD, Lead Materials Scientist, Yardney Technical Products
Yardney’s batteries are used in multitude of air, land, sea, and space applications and must meet very stringent performance requirements. Pushing the boundaries of performance of batteries requires concerted efforts dedicated to understanding and implementing battery safety. The safety-related work at Yardney starts at the fundamental understanding level and extends to cell design improvements as well as the cell pack and battery level developments. This presentation summarizes the current safety-related advancements at Yardney.
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In collaboration with: F.Puglia, G.Moore, S.Cohen, and S.Santee
10:30 Networking Refreshment Break, Exhibit/Poster Viewing
11:00 Considerations of High Energy Safety and Abuse Testing
David G. Miller, Manager, Test and Evaluation Branch, Energy, Power and Energy Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane
The paper will discuss pre-test, test, and post-test safety considerations associated with high energy battery safety and abuse tests. The assessment of post-test batteries and the safing of the test site will also be discussed. Several video examples of worst case events will be shown.
11:30 Abuse Behavior of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Speaker to be confirmed
Abstract is not available at time of publishing. Please, visit www.KnowledgeFoundation.com for the latest Program updates.
12:00 Study of Polarization Effect and Thermal Stability in Aged Lithium-Ion Battery
Alvin Wu, Research Engineer / Corporate Research, Underwriters Laboratories Taiwan Co., Ltd., Underwriters Laboratories
Research into the safety performance of lithium-ion cells has increased tremendously in recent years. Field failures, though rare, may suggest that some failure mechanisms are dependent upon the state of the cell over a period of time, as such rechargeable sources of energy experience many charging and discharging cycles. UL has hence proposed a project to investigate the safety performance in aged lithium-ion cells. After a series of study, the polarization effect and the shift in the thermal properties in aged cells are found to be the major causes to safety concerns.
12:30 Luncheon Sponsored by the Knowledge Foundation Membership Program
2:00 Effective Approach toward Safe Li-Ion Battery
Sheng S. Zhang, PhD, Research Chemist, Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
Fire and explosion of Li-ion battery (LIB) have been reported from cell phone, laptop computer to electric vehicle. All these incidents are related to the rapid release of huge chemical energy stored in LIB in an extreme manner, which is initiated by heat. Many laboratory tests, such as nail penetration, crashing, overcharging, and shorting, have shown that in most cases the heat is self-generated in the form of I2R by the internal or external electric circuit shorting. The heat melts down separator, resulting in direct chemical reactions of the charged cathode (a strong oxidizing agent) and anode (a strong reducing agent) materials. In this presentation, we discuss the causes of fire and explosion in LIB, review the current efforts to the safety of LIB, and propose a more effective and feasible approach for the better safety of LIB.
2:30 Internal Shorts in Li-Ion Cells – What Does it Take to Cause One that is Catastrophic
Judith Jeevarajan, PhD, Battery Group Lead for Safety and Advanced Technology, NASA – Johnson Space Center
A simulated internal short test method has been in work at NASA with UL collaboration for the past two years. The test protocols used to simulate internal shorts in 18650 Li cobaltate cells are currently being validated on li-ion spinel and prismatic-metal-can cell designs. Cell CT scans and destructive physical analysis (DPA) were used to understand the results and repeatability and reproducibility of the test method. Data obtained from the analysis is indicative of the fact that the heat evolved during the internal short should be extremely localized and should compromise more than one layer of separator for it to become a catastrophic hazard. Results of the DPA and data on the new cell designs will be presented in support of this observation.
3:00 Stability and Safety of Al-Doped Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries: Thermodynamic and Electrochemical Studies
Petronela Gotcu-Freis, PhD, Research Associate, Institute for Applied Materials - Applied Materials Physics (IAM-AWP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
Electrochemical reactions and phase transformations occurring in the active materials such as LiMO
2 (M = Ni, Co and/or Mn) and LiM
2O
4 compounds containing small amounts of Al were studied using adiabatic and isothermal battery calorimeters. The thermal behavior and the heat output were investigated during charging-discharging in self-assembled coin and commercial 18650 cylindrical cells. Current interruption technique was used to measure the irreversible heat while the reversible heat was determined by potentiometric measurements at different depths of discharge (DOD). The performance of these cells under different operating conditions (temperature, C-rate) was evaluated.
3:30 Networking Refreshment Break, Exhibit/Poster Viewing
4:00 Experimental Study of an Air-Cooled Thermal Management System for High Capacity Lithium-Titanate Batteries
Ajay Prasad, PhD, Professor, Dept of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware
Lithium-titanate batteries have become an attractive option for battery electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. In order to maintain safe operating temperatures, these batteries must be actively cooled during operation. Liquid-cooled systems typically employed for this purpose are inefficient due to the parasitic power consumed by the on-board chiller unit and the coolant pump. A more efficient option would be to circulate ambient air through the battery bank and directly reject the heat to the ambient. We designed and fabricated such an air-cooled thermal management system employing metal-foam based heat exchanger plates for sufficient heat removal capacity. Experiments were conducted with Altairnano’s 50 Ah cells over a range of charge-discharge cycle currents at two air flow rates. It was found that an airflow of 1100 ml/s per cell restricts the temperature rise of the coolant air to less than 10°C over ambient even for 200 A charge-discharge cycles. Furthermore, it was shown that the power required to drive the air through the heat exchanger was less than a conventional liquid-cooled thermal management system. The results indicate that air-cooled systems can be an effective and efficient method for the thermal management of automotive battery packs.
4:30 Self-Discharge Mechanism Reduces Consequences of Internal Shorts
Andrew J. Manning, President and CTO, Lithium Battery Engineering, LLC
Internal shorts are considered the most dangerous safety problem and are insidious in lithium ion cells. Such shorts can generate enough heat to initiate exothermic reactions, resulting in venting and fire. Freya Energy has developed a new separator which responds to localized over-heating of cells. The separator discharges the cell when it reaches 100°C through a controlled ‘self-discharge’ and has been shown to be effective in discharging cells with shorts, before exothermic reactions commence.
5:00 Exhibitors and Sponsors Showcase Presentations and Concluding Discussion
5:45 End of Day One
Friday, December 7, 2012
8:00 Exhibit/Poster Viewing, Coffee and Pastries
9:00 Battery Management at the System Level: Safety and Reliability
Larry J. Yount, President & CTO, LaunchPoint Energy and Power - LEAP LLC
Abstract is not available at time of publishing. Please, visit www.KnowledgeFoundation.com for the latest Program updates.
9:30 Using Distributed Intelligence to Achieve Cost Efficient Functional Safety
Karl Vestin, Director of Research & Development, Lithium Balance A/S, Danmark
As the industry around large scale lithium ion batteries matures, the requirements for functional safety increases. With incidents involving electric vehicles in recent memory even more emphasis is put on the application of structured methods to ensure safe battery operation. But functional safety comes at a price. Costs for development and production skyrockets as multiple redundancies and fail-safes are added to the designs. This presentation addresses the concept of functional safety from an architectural standpoint. Building the safety architecture in new and innovative ways reduces the costs of the safety features without compromising safety or functionality.
10:00 Safety Analysis Design of Lithium-ion Battery EV Pack through Computer Simulation
Christian E. Shaffer, PhD, COO, EC Power LLC
Battery pack designers currently test battery packs for EVs, HEVs, and PHEVs by building prototypes and seeing how well and safely they work under dangerous safety conditions. EC Power engineers, working in conjunction with the Penn State ECEC, have developed revolutionary tools for the simulation of battery packs under extreme safety conditions. The fully-coupled electrochemical and thermal model will be used to give fundamental insight into pack-level safety events. Accurate computer simulation of packs under such conditions, such as the examples shown, can significantly reduce the number of expensive packs that OEMs will need to physically test, leading to potentially substantial cost savings, while simultaneously minimizing workers’ exposure to potentially dangerous test conditions.
10:30 Networking Refreshment Break, Exhibit/Poster Viewing
11:00 Mechanisms of Catastrophic Battery Failure
Nicholas Williard, Researcher, Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering - CALCE, University of Maryland
Battery failure can be generalized into two broad categories, slow progressive degradation and immediate catastrophic failure. To date, most theoretical work has been performed on the former with little work focusing on how to model, predict, or mitigate the onset of catastrophic failure. This presentation will explain the root cause mechanisms that lead to catastrophic failure and will offer solutions on how to better predict and handle this problem.
11:30 Fail-Safe Design for Large Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries
Speaker to be confirmed
Abstract is not available at time of publishing. Please, visit www.KnowledgeFoundation.com for the latest Program updates.
12:00 Metallic Contaminant Detection System for Li Ion Battery Sheet
Saburo Tanaka, PhD, Professor, Presidential Adviser, Toyohashi University of Technology, National University Corporation
A sensitive detection system using 8ch superconducting magnetic sensor for metallic contaminant in a lithium ion battery anode or separator was developed. Finding ultra-small metallic foreign matters is a big issue for a manufacturer, which produces commercial products such as a lithium ion battery since metallic contaminant has a risk of internal short. Outer dimension of metallic particles less than 100 micron cannot be detected by a conventional X-ray imaging. Therefore a high sensitive detection system for small foreign matters is required. We have developed an eight channel high-Tc SQUID roll to roll system for inspection of a lithium ion battery anode or separator with width of 60-70 mm. A special microscope type cryostat was developed and eight SQUID gradiometers were mounted on it with separation of 9.0 mm. As a result, small iron particles of less than 50 micron on the real lithium ion battery anode with width of 60 mm were successfully detected. This is the practical system for the detection of the contaminants in a lithium ion battery anode sheet or separator.
12:30 Lunch on Your Own
2:00 2013 - New Rules for Shipping Lithium Batteries
James E. Powell, President, Transportation Development Group
In 2013, stricter Air shipping regulations take effect for small lithium batteries. These rules include classifying some previously excepted shipments as “Hazardous Materials” (requiring a diamond hazard label and documentation) if packaged in certain configurations. In some cases the new limit for excepted small batteries will drop from 100 Wh to 3.7 Wh or from 2 grams to 0.3 grams, a 97% reduction. Anyone who uses air transport in the supply chain must understand these and other changes.
2:30 An Approach to Robust, No Surprises Design Verification Testing
Erik J. Spek, PEng, Chief Engineer, TÜV SÜD Canada
This paper will discuss the normal approach to Design Verification (DV) testing for the launch of a battery for an electric vehicle and considerations that can help avoid costly surprises and delays. DV testing is usually treated as a program cost item and a schedule entry and planning is typically limited to arranging for prototypes and resources. Battery DV plans require additional planning to account for new risks, system interactions and dependencies. Some of these are staged tests to demonstrate risk management, engineering discipline and predictable outcomes. Examples of how this can accomplished will be presented.
3:00 Required Testing for Safety of Lithium Ion Batteries
Swati Umbrajkar, PhD, Manager, Chemical Process Evaluation Group, Chilworth Technology, a DEKRA Company
We will overview the conditions that can cause thermal runaway chain reactions in lithium ion batteries--leading to leaks, smoke, gas release, fire and explosion. We will discuss the new IEC 62133 standard, which went into effect May 1, 2012, that specifies requirements and tests for the safe operation, shipping and export of these batteries.
3:30 Selected Oral Poster Highlights
4:00 Concluding Remarks, End of Conference
