Nickel-cadmium battery test project - Relationship between operation, life and failure mechanism. Volume 2 - Battery test results
Factors influencing cyclic life of nickel cadmium batteries - tabulated test results
Halpert, G.↗
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Results for “battery failure”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Cracking the failure of lithium batteries
Lithium batteries that use a solid electrolyte have the potential to improve safety and increase the amount of stored energy . This makes solid-state electrochemical cells a promising option for electric vehicles and wearable devices. However, nonuniform plating or stripping of lithium at the interface between an anode (negative electrode) and the electrolyte during charging and discharging leads to growth of detrimental lithium filaments (dendrites) that short-circuit the battery cell. This problem even occurs when the battery operates at small currents. The underlying mechanism of this failure is not well understood. On page 311 of this issue, Wang et al. (1) report that structural defects accumulate in the lithium metal anode under repeated charging and discharging at a small current. This is similar to mechanical fatigue that is observed over longer periods of intermittent straining of a material. Here, the observation could guide the design of lithium batteries with increased life span.
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Predicting Thermal Response in a Li-ion Cell on a UAV Fight Profile
As the energy storage devices continue to "pack" more energy in a small space, any damage, battery component failure, manufacturing defect, or electrically abusing the battery can lead to catastrophic thermal runaway events. A catastrophic thermal event in a cell leads to high temperature, in some instances spewing of battery materials due to gas development from side reactions initiated due to high internal temperatures. Also, a thermal runaway event can propagate from a single "failed" cell to the pack in a battery pack, leading to a more significant event. Mitigating a thermal runaway event is important in the commercial and automotive sectors. However, preventing such events in an electric aircraft (or air taxis) is paramount due to the lack of alternatives in the event of a failure. Battery prognostics algorithms allow the prediction of state-of-charge (SOC) and end-of-life (EOL) of a Li-ion battery in a UAV (unmanned air vehicle) [1]. For this presentation, we will extend this two-level battery predictive algorithm to predict SOC, EOL, and estimated maximum temperature during a simulated flight. The model is extended by integrating a lumped physics-driven thermal model for high current densities [2]. The parameters used to control SOC and EOL are maximum storable charge, time constant for Li-ion diffusivity in the carbon particles, and internal cell resistance. Cycling leads to an increase in the heat generated by an aged Li-ion cell with a LiyCoO2 (LCO) cathode and a LixC6 (MCMB) anode. The aging of a cell leads to increase in SEI layer thickness, the diffusion time for the lithium ions inside the electrodes, and the local reaction rates, in addition to the thermodynamic abuse caused by fixed cycling voltages controlled by a Battery Management System. As the battery ages, the cell resistance increases, while the onset temperature of the thermal runaway decreases (depends on the cell chemistry and cell abuse history). Any large deviation of the cell temperature from the estimated (expected) value can identify a faulty cell. Since SEI decomposition has the lowest onset temperature in the series of reactions leading to thermal runaway, the model considers the self-heating rate of the SEI decomposition as onset temperature (similar to Ref. [3]). The parameters in the Arrhenius equation for the SEI heating rate depend on the number of cycles, the cell's operating temperature, and the cell's abuse history [4,5]. Coupling the electrochemical, thermal, and aging model allow the prognostic algorithm to estimate a typical cell voltage and temperature as a function of age (cycling and calendar), whose departure from measured values from the BMS is used to identify a safety event. In addition, we will present the results from two simulated flight scenarios for a UAV: typical and extreme, since the power requirements vary significantly during take-off, landing, and changing altitudes, while the power requirements remain low during the cruise. For this presentation, the power requirement for a battery pack in a UAV is scaled to a single cell. This cell is cycled through a simulated profile, and the data is collected and used to predict a safety event.
Li-ion↗
Battery Virtual Cell Module Failure Propagation Thermal Analysis
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Battery failure↗
A failure model for sealed nickel-cadmium batteries
A model has been developed to describe failure in electrochemical batteries. The model is based on the concept of the existence and subsequent growth of flaws which ultimately lead to battery failure. This model provides, in a natural way, for the statistical variability of lifetime data. The model as applied to the Crane data indicates that when the effects of temperature and depth of discharge are taken into account, the observed variability in lifetime data is due almost entirely to statistical variability inherent in the battery itself.
Fedors, R. F.↗
Cryo-EM of Li Metal Battery Aging and Failure Mechanisms.
Abstract not provided.
Jungjohann, Katherine Leigh↗
Cryogenic EM Imaging of Li Metal Battery Aging and Failure Mechanisms.
Abstract not provided.
Jungjohann, Katherine Leigh↗
TERRA Battery Thermal Control Anomaly - Simulation and Corrective Actions
The TERRA spacecraft was launched in December 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, becoming the flagship of NASA's Earth Observing System program to gather data on how the planet's processes create climate. Originally planned as a 5 year mission, it still provides valuable science data after nearly 10 years on orbit. On October 13th, 2009 at 16:23z following a routine inclination maneuver, TERRA experienced a battery cell failure and a simultaneous failure of several battery heater control circuits used to maintain cell temperatures and gradients within the battery. With several cells nearing the minimum survival temperature, preventing the electrolyte from freezing was the first priority. After several reset attempts and power cycling of the control electronics failed to reestablish control authority on the primary side of the controller, it was switched to the redundant side, but anomalous performance again prevented full heater control of the battery cells. As the investigation into the cause of the anomaly and corrective action continued, a battery thermal model was developed to be used in determining the control ability remaining and to simulate and assess corrective actions. Although no thermal model or detailed reference data of the battery was available, sufficient information was found to allow a simplified model to be constructed, correlated against pre-anomaly telemetry, and used to simulate the thermal behavior at several points after the anomaly. It was then used to simulate subsequent corrective actions to assess their impact on cell temperatures. This paper describes the rapid development of this thermal model, including correlation to flight data before and after the anomaly., along with a comparative assessment of the analysis results used to interpret the telemetry to determine the extent of damage to the thermal control hardware, with near-term corrective actions and long-term operations plan to overcome the anomaly.
Grob, Eric W.↗
4D insights into lithium-ion battery sidewall rupture during thermal runaway
Thermal runaway (TR), characterized by rapid exothermic reactions, presents a serious safety risk in lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). External triggers such as high temperatures, mechanical abuse, or internal short circuits (ISCs) can initiate TR, often resulting in sidewall rupture, which may escalate to catastrophic battery pack failure. In this study, we developed and applied high-speed synchrotron imaging techniques to investigate sidewall rupture mechanisms in LiBs subjected to different triggering scenarios. Using in situ 4D tomographic imaging, we visualized the dynamic evolution of sidewall rupture with high spatial and temporal resolution. The results revealed distinct failure behaviors linked to each trigger, underscoring the complex and condition-specific nature of sidewall breach and battery failure. These insights highlight the critical importance of implementing tailored safety strategies across diverse applications. Our findings demonstrate the powerful potential of synchrotron high-speed tomography as a diagnostic tool for advanced safety testing and cell qualification.
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Numerical and experimental analysis of mechanically induced failure in electric vehicle battery modules
Mitigating thermal runaway and cell-to-cell propagation is essential for improving the safety of electric and hybrid vehicles. Enhancing digital twin capabilities to predict battery mechanical abuse is particularly critical for automotive and aerospace applications, where crashworthiness is a key concern. Understanding failure conditions and propagation in battery modules during mechanical abuse is complex due to interactions between structural deformation, heat transfer, electrochemical processes, exothermic reactions and mechanical fracture. While prior studies have focused on modeling cell-level behavior, extending these models to module or pack level is necessary for a system level understating of electric vehicle safety. This study develops coupled large deformation finite element models that simultaneously solve for electrochemistry, material failure, internal short circuit and thermal runaway propagation. The models account for mechanical and thermal interactions between lithium-ion cells and other battery components while the contact interfaces are evolving with time. Model-predicted voltage, temperature and force responses are compared with experimental data for validation. The results demonstrate that the approach captures key failure mechanisms, including thermal propagation through heat transfer, electrical propagation from short circuits in parallel-connected cells, and mechanical propagation via penetration and crack formation. These findings show that computational models are valuable tools for understanding battery module failure and providing insight that can reduce the need for extensive experimental testing.
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Fundamental Investigations of Mechanical and Chemical Degradation Mechanisms in Lithium Ion Battery Materials (Final Technical Report)
The objective of our effort under the DOE EPSCoR Implementation grant is to establish a comprehensive and internationally recognized research program at Brown University and University of Rhode Island in understanding degradation mechanisms and to improve the cycle and calendar life of lithium ion battery (LIB) materials. A series of basic investigations are undertaken to characterize the mechanical and chemical degradation mechanisms, which can help enable new higher capacity and longer lasting electrode designs. Controlling mechanical and chemical degradation is the primary challenge in developing the next generation of higher energy density batteries. The development of failure resistant battery microstructures will require a fundamental understanding of the evolution of stress, deformation, damage, and electrochemistry in battery materials during cyclic charging and discharging. In addition, controlling the reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface is critical for the formation of a stable SEI layer. We address these issues through a combination of controlled experiments on model battery materials and practical composite electrodes, together with multi-scale computations. Our effort is organized into three focus areas that encompass many critical challenges in Lithium Ion Battery Technologies: (i) Mechanical properties, fracture and damage in electrode materials; (ii) Chemistry and Mechanics of Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI); (iii) Mechanical and Chemical Integrity of Solid-Solid Interfaces in Practical Electrodes.
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The Effect of Artificial SEIs on Lithium Metal Anode Morphology and Conductivity
Lithium metal has often been termed the “holy grail” of battery technology, due to its high capacity (2,061 mAh/cm3) and low electrochemical potential (-3.04 V vs. SHE). However, lithium’s beneficially low potential also causes it to be highly reactive in the presence of organic solvents, making it difficult to harness the high energy capabilities for rechargeable batteries. Common failure of lithium metal batteries occurs by rapid dendrite growth leading to a hazardous short-circuit. Various methods have been brought forth to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of lithium metal batteries, as well as modifications made to better stabilize lithium metal. A common route of modification is done through interface engineering, with attempts to artificially provide a stable, homogeneous solid-electrolyte interface (SEI). The stability of the SEI has direct effects on the heterogeneity of the electrode surface, which initiates a waterfall effect of for progressive reactions such as dendrite growth, dead lithium accumulation, and electrolyte consumption. This work aims to produce a mixed LiI-LiF artificial SEI to improve ionic conductivity while retaining a high elastic modulus.
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Failure Modes Experienced on Spacecraft Nicd Batteries
A review was made of failures and irregularities experienced on nickel cadmium batteries for 31 spacecraft. Only rarely did batteries fail completely. In many cases, poorly performing batteries were compensated for by a reduction in loads or by continuing to operate in spite of out-of-voltage conditions. Low discharge voltage was the most common problem observed in flight spacecraft (42%). Spacecraft batteries are often designed to protect against cell shorts, but cell shorts accounted for only 16% of the failures. Other causes of problems were high charge voltage (16%), battery problems caused by other elements of the spacecraft (10%), and open circuit failures (6%). Problems of miscellaneous or unknown causes occurred in 10% of the cases.
Gross, S.↗
Early Failure of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries at Practical Conditions: Crosstalk between Sulfur Cathode and Lithium Anode
Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are one of the most promising next-generation energy storage technologies due to their high theoretical energy and low cost. However, Li–S cells with practically high energy still suffer from a very limited cycle life with reasons which remain unclear. Here, through cell study under practical conditions, it is proved that an internal short circuit (ISC) is a root cause of early cell failure and is ascribed to the crosstalk between the S cathode and Li anode. The cathode topography affects S reactions through influencing the local resistance and electrolyte distribution, particularly under lean electrolyte conditions. The inhomogeneous reactions of S cathodes are easily mirrored by the Li anodes, resulting in exaggerated localized Li plating/stripping, Li filament formation, and eventually cell ISC. Manipulating cathode topography is proven effective to extend the cell cycle life under practical conditions. The findings of this work shed new light on the electrode design for extending cycle life of high-energy Li–S cells, which are also applicable for other rechargeable Li or metal batteries.
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Modeling strategy for progressive failure prediction in lithium-ion batteries under mechanical abuse
The prediction for the internal failure of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) under external mechanical abuse loading remains a challenge for safe design. This paper systematically studies the modeling approach for progressive failure simulation and short-circuit prediction. Hemispherical indentation experiments are conducted on a battery specimen containing 5 representative sandwich (RS) layers to examine the deformation and progressive failure behavior of battery components. Three different models, viz, a high-fidelity detailed model, an intermediate homogenized model and a fully homogenized model, are developed and employed to simulate the progressive failure in a multi-layer battery specimen. The simulation results obtained using the three models all correlate well with experimental phenomena, capturing the overall stress-strain response and ultimate failure of the battery structure. The numerical results can help us understand the failure behavior and the mechanism for mechanical abuse-induced short circuit in LIBs. The feasibility of the three models for use in progressive failure prediction is compared by analyzing the capability of the models in predicting the critical failure events, the computational efficiency of the models, and the feasibility to implement coupled mechanical-electrochemical-thermal simulations. The results of this work provide useful insights on practical choices for the modeling strategy and safety design of LIBs under mechanical abuse conditions.
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Predicting Maximum Thermal Response in a Li-ion Cell as a Thermal Runaway Predictor for a UAV Fight
As the energy storage devices continue to "pack" more energy in a small space, any damage, battery component failure, manufacturing defect, or electrically abusing the battery can lead to catastrophic thermal runaway events. A catastrophic thermal event in a cell leads to high temperature, in some instances to spewing of battery materials due to gas development from side reactions initiated due to high internal temperatures. Moreover, a thermal runaway can propagate from a single "failed" cell to a whole battery pack, resulting in a more serious event. The commercial and automotive sectors need to mitigate thermal runaway events. An electric aircraft (or air taxi) has no alternative in the event of a failure, so preventing such events is paramount. Currently, battery prognostics algorithms only predict the state-of-charge (SOC) and end-of-life (EOL) of a Li-ion battery in a UAV (unmanned air vehicle), but do not predict the maximum temperature during a flight or the likelihood of thermal runaway. Our current work focuses on adding the thermal model (based on Birkl's OCV model, in Ref. [1]) to the existing hybrid electrochemical model (single-particle model with lumped parameters as in Ref. [2]) to determine end-of-discharge, end-of-life, and maximum temperature during discharge.
Thermal runaway↗
Methods and systems for diagnosis of failure mechanisms and for prediction of lifetime of metal batteries
Methods for diagnosing failure mechanisms and for predicting lifetime of metal batteries include monitoring rest voltage and Coulombic Efficiency over relatively few cycles to provide profiles that indicate, by the trends thereof, a particular failure mechanism (e.g., electrolyte depletion, loss of metal inventory, increased cell impedance). The methods also include cycling over relatively few cycles an anode-free cell, having the same cathode and electrolyte as the metal battery, but with a current collector instead of the anode. Discharge capacity is monitored and profiled, and a discharge capacity curve is fitted to the discharge capacity profile to discern a capacity retention per cycle. The lifetime of the metal battery is determined using the capacity retention per cycle discerned from the anode-free cell. Related systems include a metal-based battery and an anode-free cell or a battery cell reconfigurable between a metal-based and an anode-free cell.
Li, Bin↗
Deconvoluting sources of failure in lithium metal batteries containing NMC and PEO-based electrolytes
Solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) containing polyethylene oxide (PEO)-derived polymer electrolytes and high-voltage (> 4 V vs. Li/Li + ) cathode materials suffer from three sources of failure: (1) instability between the polymer electrolyte and cathode at high voltage, (2) instability of the polymer electrolyte with Li metal, and (3) poorly-designed cathodes. In this study, these three sources of failure are deconvoluted by studying Ni-rich LiNi x Mn y Co 1-x-y O 2 (NMC, x ≥ 0.6) cathodes and a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) derived from PEO. Initial cycling data reveals that rapid capacity fade occurs regardless of whether soft short circuits form due to Li dendrites. Cyclic voltammetry scans on cells featuring a Li metal electrode, GPE, and a NMC811 electrode free of additives suggest that there are no runaway reactions between the GPE and NMC811 up to 4.5 V vs. Li/Li + . Cathode/cathode symmetric cell cycling demonstrates that Li metal reactivity is a prime source of failure, though a poorly-designed cathode leads to subpar performance. A cathode with single-crystal NMC particles was demonstrated to achieve better initial capacity and longer cycle life, indicating room for improvement in SSLMB cathode design. Therefore, the sources of failure as enumerated may be ranked as follows from most to least concerning: 2 > 3 > 1.
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