Cells and battery packs of different chemistries including but not
limited to lithium ion, lithium polymer, NiMH, NiCd, lead acid and
alkaline can be probed for design and/or manufacturing problems as well
as safety and performance. The electronic battery management system
(protection circuits) are also designed and evaluated for the purposes
of battery pack production.
Our cell and battery pack capabilities include
PACK DESIGN,
PERFORMANCE and SAFETY
CHARACTERIZATION as well as FORENSIC
ANALYSIS:
1) PACK DESIGN:
- Cell selection (voltage, current, capacity, power, form
factor, thermal, safety etc.)
- Cell sourcing and cost negotiation
- Pack layout
- Protection circuit design
- Fuel gauge (coulomb counter and algorithm based)
- Mechanical and electrical interface design
- Prototyping
- Testing and characterization (see PERFORMANCE and SAFETY
CHARACTERIZATION sections below)
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2) PERFORMANCE CHARACTERIZATION:
- Life cycle
- Capacity (%SOC)
- Thermal (Room Temp., Hot, Cold, Thermal shock)
- Impedance
- Altitude
- Mechanical (drop, shock, crush, vibration and impact)
- Nail Penetration
- Force test
- ESD (IEC 61000-4-2)
- Surge (IEC 61000-4-5, 4-11, 4-4)
- Short circuit
- Power
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3) SAFETY CHARACTERIZATION:
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Cell Level-
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Pack Level-
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- Isolation Properties
- Separator Shrinkage @ Room Temperature
- Separator Shrinkage @ Elevated Temperature
- Electrode Capacity Balance and Geometry
- Electrode Tabs (connection to cell terminals)
- Application of Insulation
- Cell Vent Mechanism
- Internal Short Avoidance
- Positioning of Insulating Plate
- Cell Thermal Test
- Evaluation of Excess Lithium Plating and Short-Circuit
Test on Cycled Cells
- External Shorting of Cell Terminals
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- Overcurrent Protection Device
- Current
- Voltage
- Chemistry
- Pack Manufacturer / Supplier Traceability
- Limit Output Current (External Short-Circuit
Considerations)
- Thermal Protection Design
- Pack Overcurrent Protection Requirement
- Mechanical Considerations
- ESD
- Pack Drop Test
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4) FORENSIC ANALYSIS:
- Component traceability
- Detailed tear down and documentation of damage patterns
- Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA)
- Optical microscopy
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDX
- x-ray
- Thermal studies (of faulty but operational packs)
- System analysis
- Electrical testing of battery pack protection circuit
- Testing and analysis of equivalent cells (Lot analysis)
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Copyright 2009 - ARTIN Engineering and Consulting Group, Inc.
