BTC-500: A Floor Standing, Battery Safety Testing, Adiabatic Calorimeter

TheBTC-500 (Battery Testing Calorimeter) is a floor-standing adiabatic calorimeterforthe safe testing of thermal, electrical, and mechanical stress (abuse) tests on larger battery cells, and small modules. Evaluation of these tests facilitates the assessment of the safety performance of battery cells, enablesthe battery’s safe operating limits to be defined, and facilitates research and development into the mechanisms of thermal runaway and thermal propagation.

Features and Options

Type of Test:

• Thermal stress:the BTC-500enables a cellto be subjected to thermal stressunder adiabatic conditions, allowing for assessment of its thermal stability andthe characterization ofthermal runaway events

• Electrical stress:Full integration with charge-discharge units supports testing of overcharging and discharging rates. External short circuitscan also be applied.Resultant thermal runaway events can be characterized under “worst-case”, adiabatic conditions

• Mechanical stress:the BTC-500can be equipped to perform nail penetration puncture tests, and allows for the characterizationof the subsequent thermal runaway.

• High data rate acquisition, up to 10,000 Hz is available for characterizing extremely fast reactions. 100 Hz data acquisition and unique tests are available for compliance with GB/T 36276-2018.

• Additional capabilities to aid further mechanistic understanding of thermal propagation and thermal runaway include:
• ​Automated gas sampling for vent gas analysis.

• Triggering a cellat a specific position within a module to undergo thermal runaway.

• Integratedvideo camera to record changes to the test sample.

• Thermal mapping (multipoint temperature measurement) of a sample.

  Battery/Sample Size

  Cylindrical cells (upwards from 18650), prismatic cells, pouch cells, and small modules.

  Chamber internal size - 500 mm diameter / 500 mm tall.

  Temperature Control

  Ambient to 500 °C

  • Optional: sub-ambient temperatures starting from -40 °C

    Intelligent Software Control and Analysis

    labCONSOL software control enables regular data logging, multi-step recipes, parameter control, and feedback loops. The software addsresponsive intelligence to the BTC-500system while deliveringan intuitive interface that needs only minimal training to run quickly.

    Safety Features

    Automated shutdown procedures if a safety condition is exceeded to ensure usersafety

    Containment vessel designed to retain fragments and fumes should a sampledecompose

    N₂purge for when operating under sub-ambient conditions, or for the safe purging of hazardous gases after a thermal runaway

    Automatic hardware and software fail-safes are installed on every system