Outside the Cell - Battery Failure Analysis

Lithium Ion cells and other cell types are generally implemented in multicell systems known as batteries. Batteries require electrical, thermal, and mechanical management. Electrical management includes charge and discharge control, overcharge and undercharge protection, and overcurrent protection. Thermal management requires protection against charging and discharging under both overtemperature and undertemperature conditions as well as possible modification of electrical conditions based on temperature. Mechanical management includes both the protection of batteries from outside forces and safeguards to contain battery energy. Lithium Ion batteries have increased in size and complexity from traditional portable computer and hand tool applications to electric vehicles and large battery energy storage systems. This presentation will focus on the world that cells want to live in and what happens when the cells are allowed to deviate from that world. It will focus on failure analysis methodology and case studies involving battery failure analysis.