In situ chamber for studying battery failure using high-speed synchrotron radiography

Abstract

The investigation of lithium-ion battery failures is a major challenge for personnel and equipment due to the associated hazards (thermal reaction, toxic gases and explosions). To perform such experiments safely, a battery abuse-test chamber has been developed and installed at the microtomography beamline ID19 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The chamber provides the capability to robustly perform in situ abuse tests through the heat-resistant and gas-tight design for flexible battery geometries and configurations, including single-cell and multi-cell assemblies. High-speed X-ray imaging can be complemented by supplementary equipment, including additional probes (voltage, pressure and temperature) and thermal imaging. Together with the test chamber, a synchronization graphical user interface was developed, which allows an initial interpretation by time-synchronous visualization of the acquired data. Enabled by this setup, new meaningful insights can be gained into the internal processes of a thermal runaway of current and future energy-storage devices such as lithium-ion cells.

First Experimental Assessment of All-Solid-State Battery Thermal Runaway Propagation in a Battery Pack

“…Furthermore, the second aim is to observe this potential propagation with high-speed X-ray radiography in the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility). Few setups are available to observe this phenomenon . A dedicated setup is proposed here to observe the phenomena by X-ray images coupled with several other measurements, such as temperature and gas pressure, to validate the kinetics in a face-to-face pack configuration.…”

Temperature-Tunable Operando Nondestructive Detection of Electronic and Geometrical Structures in Battery Electrodes

“…Several innovative setups and workflows have been developed in the field of in situ and/or operando research on batteries. − Umegaki et al proposed a new element analysis technique to detect lithium metal deposits on the working anode of lithium-ion batteries by microfocusing X-rays . Cressa et al developed a methodology for performing operando magnetic sector secondary ion mass spectrometry to analyze solid-state batteries structurally as well as chemically during cycling .…”