Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013) A251

0013-4651/2013/160(2)/A251/8/$28.00 The Electrochemical Society

Accurate and Precise Temperature-Controlled Boxes for the Safe
Testing of Advanced Automotive Li-Ion Cells with High Precision
Coulometry
J. R. Dahn,
,z
S. Trussler, S. Dugas, D. J. Coyle, J. J. Dahn, and J. C. Burns
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H4R2, Canada
Lithium-ion cells for electronics and automotive applications have an excellent safety record. However, safety-related events can
sometimes occur during routine testing of prototype designs, especially in the case of designs using new electrode materials, new
separators and/or new electrolytes. High precision measurements of coulombic efciency have recently been shown to have great
value in predictions of the impact of electrolyte additives on cell lifetime. In order to apply those methods to prototype automotive
cells, special compact temperature-controlled boxes were required that could maintain the temperature to 0.05

C precision and
ensure the safety of the laboratory. These versatile temperature-controlled boxes were designed to accommodate cells as small as
coin cells and as large as 40 Ah automotive pouch cells. The ability of the design to prevent cell-to-cell re propagation and to
channel smoke and ame away from the rest of the laboratory was experimentally veried. It is hoped that the information presented
here will be of value to those designing precision testing facilities for large Li-ion cells.
2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.047302jes] All rights reserved.
Manuscript submitted October 8, 2012; revised manuscript received November 12, 2012. Published December 1, 2012.
The summer 2012 issue of Electrochemical Society Interface is
devoted to Li-ion battery safety. Doughty and Roth
1
state that the
failure rate, leading to a safety incident, of Li-ion rechargeable battery
cells in the eld is very small, less than 1 in 10 million. Li-ion cells
that are in use in the eld have all been subjected to a large number
of mandatory tests to demonstrate that they are safe under normal
conditions of use and also under some conditions of electrical and
mechanical abuse.
2
Prototype Li-ion batteries in the R+D stage, that
may be hand assembled, with higher energy density, new designs,
new electrode materials and/or new electrolytes may be less safe than
commercial cells and hence must be handled appropriately in the
testing phase in the laboratory.
Our research group has recently been applying precision measure-
ments of the coulombic efciency of Li-ion batteries to the study of
cell lifetime and the efcacy of electrolyte additives.
35
High preci-
sion coulometry measurements made over a period of a few weeks
can be used to rank electrolyte additives and their combinations for
effectiveness in prolonging cell lifetime. Applying such methods to
automotive-scale Li-ion batteries is expected to yield similar advan-
tages in cell lifetime predictions.
Smith et al.
3
published requirements for testing equipment to per-
form high precision coulometry on Li-ion cells. These experiments
are generally made at low rates, C/10 and slower, but need to be made
at a very stable temperature (preferably stable to better than 0.1

C)
for measurements of extremely high precision. Therefore, there is a
need for temperature-controlled boxes designed for high precision cy-
cling of automotive cells that can maintain strict temperature stability
while ensuring laboratory safety.
One of the authors recently visited or contacted many makers
of large Li-ion cells (>20 Ah) to learn about the chambers used
to hold such cells during testing. All the manufacturers contacted
contained the cells in re-proof chambers, with most of the chambers
vented outside the building. The size of the ductwork used varied
from 7.5 cm diameter to 25 cm diameter. Some of the manufacturers
placed expensive charging equipment near the cells and some placed
it remotely. None of the facilities visited or contacted provided for
all three of: 1) precise (0.1

C) and constant temperature control

between 5 and 60

C; 2) large diameter ductwork (20 cm) to handle

large volumes of escaping gases in a short time and 3) a compact
design to maximize the number of cells that could be tested per unit
volume where the absence of cell-to-cell re propagation could still
be ensured.
Temperature-controlled Li-ion battery test chambers are available
from a number of manufacturers, such as Cincinatti Sub Zero
6
and

Electrochemical Society Fellow.

z
E-mail:jeff.dahn@dal.ca
Weiss Umwelttechnik GmbH.
7
These chambers are available as off-
the shelf units or they can be custom-designed. However, based on
published information, these units do not meet our requirements.
A next-generation high-precision charger is now under construc-
tion at Dalhousie University. This 100 channel unit will be able to
measure coulombic efciency of Li-ion cells from 2 mAh capacity
(coin cells) to 40 Ah capacity (automotive cells) with an accuracy
and precision of better than 10 ppm. In this paper, the temperature-
controlled boxes that have been built to accommodate a wide range
of cell sizes, provide precise temperature stability and ensure labora-
tory safety are described. Experiments undertaken at the Nova Scotia
Fireghters School to validate the safety of the design in the event of
the thermal runaway of an automotive Li-ion cell are also described.
Description of the Temperature-Controlled Boxes
Figure 1 shows an example of two cell types to be tested and how
they are physically connected in the temperature-controlled box. Fig-
ure 1b shows a 30 Ah Li-ion automotive pouch cell in its testing tray.
These trays are stacked on shelves within the temperature-controlled
boxes. The tray is lined with 1/8 thick Frenzelit high temperature
millboard (McMaster-Carr part #9362K16) on the bottom and on the
tab edge. The Frenzelit millboard provides thermal resistance to cells
below, should the cell in the tray have a thermal runaway, and to the
cell itself, should a cell below undergo thermal runaway. Pressure
plates on the cell are not shown for clarity but can be added, if de-
sired, for testing. Figure 1b shows the 4-wire connection to the cell.
Large high-current cables are not required because the maximumrates
required for the precision coulometry experiments
3
to be conducted
are C/10 or 3 A for such an automotive cell. Each of the connecting
wires contains an in-line fuse (Littelfuse Inc. part #1500274Z tted
with a 3.15 A slow-blow fuse) so that in the event of a short circuit
anywhere between the cell and the high precision charger, the fuse
will blow. This is very important because the short circuit current of
automotive Li-ion cells can be well over 1000 A. The male 4-wire
connector (Tyco part #206429-1; Male Contacts - Tyco part #66103-
4) shown at the top left of the photo screws into the corresponding
female connector (Tyco part #206430-1; Female Contacts - Tyco part
#66105-4) as shown in Figure 1c in order to make contact to the cable
to the charger. The connecting pins in the male connector are recessed
within a plastic housing so it is impossible to create a short circuit by
touching the connector inadvertently against a metal surface.
Figure 1a shows a 4-wire polypropylene cell holder designed to
accommodate coin-type cells, small prismatic cells or 18650-size
cells. The 4-wire male plug (Tyco part #206429-1 with screw ring
removed; Male Contacts - Tyco part #66103-4) at the end of the
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
A252 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013)
Figure 1. A) Photo of an 18650-size Li-ion cell
in a 4-wire polypropylene holder; B) Photo of
30 Ah automotive Li-ion pouch cell in a testing
tray; C) Photo of the 4-wire male connector for the
automotive cell plugged into the female connector
on the temperature-controlled box wall and D)
Photo of the polypropylene holder with its 4-wire
male plug inserted into a 4-wire female receptacle
on the temperature-controlled box wall.
polypropylene holder pushes into the female receptacles on the side
of the temperature-controlled box as shown in Figure 1d.
Figure 2 shows a cut-away viewof a temperature-controlled box.
There is an inner metal box (Protocase 46 Wabana Court, Harbour-
side Industrial Park. Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 6R7) which is wrapped
with a band heater (from Electro-Flex Heat Inc.). Next is a layer of
1 thick silica insulation and then an outer metal box. The insulation
used on the inside of the door and between the boxes on the bottom
was hard silica (McMaster Carr part #93595K75 Extra-high Temper-
ature Ceramic Insulation) while the insulation used between the sides
of the boxes and the tops of the boxes was soft silica (McMaster
Carr part #3315K74 Ultra-high Temp Ceramic Insulation Roll). Soft
insulation was chosen for the sides and top for ease of assembly of
the temperature-controlled box. Hard insulation was chosen for the
bottom so that the weight of the cells, trays and shelves could be sup-
ported. Hard insulation was selected for the door so that dimensionally
Figure 2. Cutaway view of the temperature-
controlled box enclosure showing the inner and
outer metal boxes (gray), the silica insulation (yel-
low) and the band heater (red).
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013) A253
Figure 3. Top left) Photo of a temperature-controlled box located in a Justrite
cabinet; right) highlighting the fan stack which ensures good air circulation
for good temperature stability; bottom) close up of the wires for connecting
an automotive Li-ion cell note the in-line fuses near the thumb; left inset)
thermal switch wired in series with the band heater.
stable insulation could be directly exposed to the cell chamber. The
hinged door is held closed during cell testing by small rare-earth
magnets (McMaster Carr part #7048T13 Ultra-high-pull Neodymium
Magnet, Adhesive On North Pole) located at the top and bottom right
corners. Although the temperature stability of these boxes is not the
focus of this article, temperature control boxes of a similar design, but
using plastic insulation, have been used in our lab for over 22 years
and have been demonstrated to give reliable and precise temperature
stability.
Figure 3 shows a photo of a temperature-controlled box located
within a modied Justrite Safety cabinet (Global Industrial part
#FD237772 approx. size 60 cm90 cm160 cm). The temperature-
controlled box is congured to hold three automotive pouch cells in
this photo. Highlighted regions in Figure 3 are provided to give in-
creased detail of certain features. The panel on the right shows a fan
stack included to give vigorous air circulation required for tempera-
ture stability. The fan stack is mounted on a hinge at the bottom so it
can be moved out of the way when cell trays need to be loaded and
unloaded into the chamber. The bottom panel shows a highlight of
the alligator clip connections to one cell. The inset at the middle left
shows a thermal switch (Cantherm part #CS706525Z), wired in series
with the band heater. The function of the thermal switch is to prevent
temperatures rising above 65

C in the event of a temperature con-

troller failure that provides continuous power to the band heater. The
thermal switch is basically a redundant fail-safe measure to prevent
severe overheating of large cells.
Figure 4 shows a temperature-controlled box congured in three
ways. In the top panel, no cells or shelves are installed so that the
16 4-wire plugs and the shelf support pins can be observed on the left
side of the inner metal box. The middle panel shows the temperature-
controlled box with four shelves, four cell tray and four automotive
cells installed. We believe that four 30 Ah automotive cells are the
most that should be loaded into one temperature-controlled box as we
will justify later. The lower panel shows the temperature-controlled
box with all shelves removed and 16 polypropylene cell holders in-
stalled. The temperature-controlled box can be congured with any
combination of shelves, trays and polypropylene cell holders that is
physically possible. For example, one could have two large automotive
cells and 9 small cells in one temperature-controlled box.
Figure 5 shows two modied Justrite safety cabinets each contain-
ing three temperature-controlled boxes. One cabinet has its door open
and the other has its door closed. The Justrite cabinet with the closed
Figure 4. Three views of a temperature-controlled box. top) empty, showing
the 4-pin female receptacles and the shelf support pins on the left wall; middle)
showing 4 trays on 4 shelves for cycling 4 automotive cells; bottom) showing
16 4-wire polypropylene cell holders in place.
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
A254 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013)
Figure 5. Two views of the Justrite chambers. Left) door closed and steel band in place to prevent door opening in a thermal event; right) door open showing
three temperature-controlled boxes in position. Notice the rectangular holes cut in the front of each shelf to allow smoke and re to propagate out of the duct at
the top when the Justrite door is closed.
door shows a 1 cm thick by 5 cm wide steel band that is hooked on
1 cmdiameter steel pins welded to the side of the Justrite cabinet. This
band is used to prevent the unwanted opening of the door should a high
pressure develop in a possible thermal runaway. A 20 cm diameter
hole was cut into the top of each Justrite cabinet and a steel ductwork
ange was attached. This ange is attached to ductwork used to direct
any possible smoke and ame outside the building (see Figure 10).
The Justrite cabinet on the right side of Figure 5 shows the lower
temperature-controlled box with its door open to the extent that would
occur in a thermal runaway of a large cell. Released gas and ame
generates pressure that opens the temperature-controlled box door.
The ame and gas would then be expelled through the rectangular
openings in the two upper shelves and out through the duct work.
There is a small air circulation fan at the bottom of the front door that
is used to circulate air within the Justrite cabinet. This small fan is not
meant to expel the smoke and ame from the cabinet should an event
occur.
Estimates were made of the amount of gas that would be produced
in a thermal runaway of a 30 Ah Li-ion pouch cell. Assuming that
all the oxygen in the cathode material creates CO
2
, all the graphite
in the negative electrode creates CO
2
all the electrolyte creates H
2
O
and CO
2
upon combustion and all the separator and pouch plastics
will be combusted, one can estimate about 300 L of STP gas could
be produced. In a worst-case scenario, it was assumed that all this
gas could be produced in 200 milliseconds. [Note: Our own nail
penetration tests of 30 Ah automotive pouch cells, as well as those of
the manufacturer, show that this time is more like 10 seconds]. For
300 L of STP gas (heated to 900

C) to escape in 200 ms through 10 m

of ductwork with a pressure drop of less than 5 of water, it was
determined that 20 cm diameter ductwork was required.
Figure 6 shows a circuit diagram for one temperature-controlled
box located within a Justrite cabinet. Of particular note in Figure 6
are the in-line fuses in series with the power to the band heater and
the door fan which are both powered by 115 V. In the event of a
thermal event that may compromise wiring insulation integrity, these
fuses prevent the possibility of sparking and short circuiting. Figure 6
also shows the wiring for a single cell, showing the male/female
connection within the temperature-controlled box (as highlighted in
Figures 1 and 4) as well as the connector at the back of the Justrite
cabinet which can be connected to a corresponding end of a male cable
from the high precision charger unit. Figure 6 shows the resistance
temperature device (RTD) that is used to monitor the temperature by
the temperature controller (Omega part #CNi3222). A variac (Supe-
rior Electric part #10C) is used to limit the power directed to the
band heater to a reasonable value. The variac output is normally re-
duced as the difference between the set temperature and the ambient
temperature is reduced in order to give more precise control.
Thermocouples were mounted in 1 cm
3
aluminum blocks and
placed on each of the four shelves in the middle panel of Figure 4.
The temperature controlled box was then set for 50.0

C and the four

thermocouple temperatures were monitored every 20 seconds. After
8 hours, the temperatures stabilized and for the next 8 hours the
temperatures of the four thermocouples were 50.1 0.05

C, 50.05
0.05

C, 50.0 0.05

Cand 49.75 0.05

C. The lowest temperature

) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013) A255
Figure 6. Circuit diagram for a temperature-controlled box within a Justrite cabinet. Wires for only one cell are shown.
was measured on the lowest shelf. This demonstrates the excellent
temperature stability of the unit and that a cell placed on each shelf
will have a stable temperature.
Lithium-ion batteries under charge and discharge do absorb and
evolve heat as the entropy of the electrode materials change. Isother-
mal calorimetry results measured on 6 mAh graphite/graphite sym-
metric cells
8
cycled at C/10 showed a maximum entropy-related heat
output of 100 W (see Figure 7 in
8
). Scaling this heat ow for a
30 Ah cell cycling at C/20 yields a heat output of 0.25 W.
Given that the heater powers in our temperature controlled boxes
are typically 25 W or more, it is unlikely this entropy-generated heat
will signicantly affect the temperature stability of the automotive
pouch cells under test. Once the system is fully functional, thermo-
couples on the pouch cells will monitor their actual temperature during
charge-discharge cycling.
Experimental Verication of Safety of Dalhousie Design
In order to verify the robustness and safety of the design described
above, one Justrite cabinet, three temperature-controlled boxes and
suitable monitoring equipment such as thermocouples, video cam-
eras, webcams and a laptop equipped with a data acquisition module
were taken the Nova Scotia Fireghters School in Waverly, Nova
Scotia. Seven 30 Ah pouch-type Li-ion cells were provided by a rep-
utable manufacturer. These cells were charged to 4.2 V prior to the
experiments reported below.
In consultation with the manufacturer, it was determined that the
only way to create thermal runaway with certainty in these cells was
by a nail penetration. Therefore it was necessary to design a nail
penetration device that could drive a nail into a 30 Ah cell in the bot-
tom temperature-controlled box while leaving the upper temperature-
controlled boxes intact. Figure 7 shows the nail penetration device that
was developed for this purpose. The left panel of Figure 7 shows a
sketch of the Justrite cabinet and temperature-controlled boxes with a
hydraulic press mounted on top and a long rod from the press to a nail
device resting on top of the cell in the bottom temperature-controlled
box. The lower middle panel of Figure 7 shows a photo of the rod
and nail device resting on the cell. During initial trials (made on a
different day) we learned that nail penetration near the edge of the
30 Ah pouch cells often led to a thermal runaway that only produced
heavy smoke and no ame. By contrast, pushing the nail at the center
of the cell gave thermal runaway accompanied by ame. Therefore,
the nail device designed allows the rod from the hydraulic press to
push near the wall of the temperature-controlled box while the nail is
closer to the center of the cell. This design made it possible to simply
shift the two upper temperature-controlled boxes to the right (see left
panel of Figure 7) and not compromise them with extra holes.
The top two panels for Figure 7 show photos of the Justrite cabinet
on-site at the Nova Scotia Fireghters School. The left of these photos
shows the hydraulic press mounted to the top pf the Justrite cabinet
and the right photo shows one of the authors (JRD) xing the steel
band across the door prior to a test. The Justrite cabinet had two
web cams mounted inside, one mounted near the top viewing down
through the rectangular openings in the shelves [see Figure 5] and one
mounted near the bottom, viewing the cell directly. Thermocouples
were mounted on the cell being abused and within the middle and top
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
A256 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013)
Figure 7. Left) Sketch of nail penetration device used to initiate thermal runaway in a cell located in the bottom temperature-controlled box; right bottom) Photo
of the frame used to push the nail into the cell; middle top) Photo of a Justrite cabinet with the hydraulic press attachment in place; right top) Photo of the steel
band being secured across the door before testing.
temperature-controlled boxes so that their interior temperatures could
be monitored during the testing. Thermocouples were mounted on the
inside of the temperature-controlled box doors and on the inside of the
wall of the upper temperature-controlled box where the 4-wire female
connectors are mounted [see Figure 4].
Figure 8 shows results from a typical test. In this test, a single cell
was located in the bottom temperature-controlled box and a nail was
pushed into the cell at about 100 seconds, as shown on the graph at
the left of Figure 8. The cell temperature spiked and ame was visible
from the duct work for about 10 seconds as shown in the middle panel
Figure 8. Left) Temperature time graphs dur-
ing a thermal runaway event; middle) Photo of
the Justrite cabinet while the automotive Li-ion
cell is undergoing thermal runaway; right) Pho-
tos taken by the interior webcam before and dur-
ing thermal runaway.
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013) A257
Figure 9. Left) Temperature time graphs during a thermal runaway event while the cell thermocouple is attached to the neighbor cell; middle) Photo of the Justrite
cabinet while the automotive Li-ion cell is undergoing thermal runaway; right top) Photo taken by the interior webcam during thermal runaway; right bottom)
Photo taken of the interior of the lower temperature-controlled box after the thermal runaway of the lower cell. Notice that the cell above is completely intact.
of Figure 8. The interior webcam views before the nail penetration
and just afterwards are shown at the right in Figure 8, proving that re
lled the inside of the Justrite cabinet. The thermocouple mounted
to the cell only reached a maximum temperature of about 260

C.
This is misleading because the pouch cells puff up and then the
thermocouple is some distance from the electrode stack and does not
read the true temperature of the electrode stack. In any event, the
thermocouples within the upper and middle temperature-controlled
boxes reached a maximum temperature of about 40

C, which is not
enough to cause thermal runaway of any cells contained in those
temperature-controlled boxes. This test was repeated with a similar
outcome.
Figure 9 shows the outcome of a test where two cells were placed
in the lower temperature-controlled box. The photos of the ductwork
and from the interior webcam clearly demonstrate that the cell which
was nailed underwent thermal runaway with ame. The tempera-
ture time graphs show that the temperature of the neighbor cell briey
spiked to near 80

Cduring the period when ame was present and pre-

sumably lapping onto the thermocouple, but the temperature rapidly
returned to its original temperature of near 50

C once the ame dis-

sipated. [Note: For those wondering if ambient summer temperatures
in Nova Scotia reach 50

C, it does not. The ambient of 50

C within
the Justrite cabinet was a result of numerous previous tests. In fact
this neighbor cell had been in a prior test where the data acquisition
failed and it had been heated to 50

C.] Again, the temperature-time

graphs show that the temperatures inside the middle and upper boxes
do not exceed 52

C during this test. The voltage of the neighbor cell

remained at 4.18 V throughout the test and it was visually intact after
the test as can be seen in the bottom right panel of Figure 8. By con-
trast, the nailed cell was completely combusted with only the current
collector foils, the pouch and the positive electrode metals remaining.
This test was repeated with a similar outcome. This gives us con-
dence that re will not propagate from one cell to another within the
same temperature-controlled box using this design. It is our belief that
the cell trays equipped with the Frenzelit high temperature millboard
(see Figure 1) are very effective in preventing heat transfer from the
re zone near the nailed cell to the neighboring cell.
The automotive pouch cells proved to be extremely resistant to
local hot spots on the outside of their pouches as was determined in
initial experiments trying to create reliable thermal runaway using
electrically heated nichrome and kanthal wires. Two mm diameter
kanthal wire glowing white hot, pressed into the cell pouch material
was unable to initiate any thermal event. The polymer on the outside
of the pouch near the wire was vaporized, but that was the extent of
the damage, even after 5 minutes of application of the heated wire.
One reason for this robustness is that the pouch material contains Al
foil which is about 40 micrometers thick and is very effective at lateral
heat transport. Hence, it is really difcult to create a localized hot spot
within the cell by applying a localized heating source to the outside
of the cell. It is our opinion that ames lapping on the outside of a
neighboring pouch cell will create hotspots that are similarly leveled
by the Al foil in the pouch material.
Finally, Figure 10 shows a cutaway sketch of the new High Pre-
cision Charger facility being installed at Dalhousie University. Four
of the Justrite cabinets are to be located in a walk-in cooler (white
room in Figure 10) set to a temperature of about 5

C. By setting the
ambient to 5

C it will be possible to attain temperatures from 10

C
and higher in the temperature-controlled boxes in the present design.
Several Justrite cabinets will be located outside the cooler to access
temperature higher than 30

C. The High Precision Charger will be

separated from the Justrite cabinets and temperature-controlled boxes
by a reproof wall.
Conclusions
It is possible to build compact, versatile and precise temperature-
controlled boxes that allow the precision testing of cells ranging from
2 mAh capacity to 40 Ah capacity while still maintaining laboratory
safety. The verication testing of these temperature-controlled boxes
showed that propagation of thermal events from cell to cell within
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP
A258 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 160 (2) A251-A258 (2013)
Figure 10. Schematic of the new High Precision Charger Facility at Dalhousie University. Justrite chambers having temperature-controlled boxes within are
yellow and the walk-in cooler is white. The charger units are located to the right of a re-proof wall.
a temperature-controlled box and from box to box is very unlikely.
Additionally, the Justrite cabinets contain smoke and ame and chan-
nel them up the duct work, maintaining laboratory safety. Given that
the probability of thermal runaway during normal testing of Li-ion
batteries is also very low it is extremely unlikely that damage to the
High Precision Charger facility or to our building will occur in the
years to come.
It was not possible to nd any paper in the literature which de-
scribes such temperature-controlled boxes, so we are hopeful that this
paper will be useful for others designing precision, versatile testing
facilities for Li-ion cells of a variety of sizes.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge useful discussions with Sankar Das-
Gupta, Ken Broom, Ulrich von Sacken, Dan Doughty and Jan Reimers
regarding the design of our facility. The authors thank John Cunning-
ham, Peter Ehler and Mike Coley of the Nova Scotia Fireghters
School for the use of their facility and their help with the experiments.
NSERC, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Nova Scotia Research
and Innovation Trust and 3M Co. are thanked for nancial support
of this project. SD and JCB thank NSERC for scholarship support
through the CREATE DREAMS program and the Canada Graduate
scholarship program, respectively.
References
1. D. Doughty and E. P. Roth, Electrochemical Society Interface, 21, 37 (2012).
2. J. R. Dahn and G. M. Erlich, Lithium-Ion Batteries, Chapter 26 in Lindens Hand-
book of Batteries, 4th edition, edited by T. B. Reddy, McGraw-Hill (2011).
3. A. J. Smith, J. C. Burns, S. Trussler, and J. R. Dahn, J. Electrochem. Soc., 157, A196
(2010).
4. A. J. Smith, J. C. Burns, and J. R. Dahn, Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, 13,
A177 (2010).
5. J. C. Burns, N. N. Sinha, Gaurav Jain, Collette M. VanElzen, W. M. Lamanna, A. Xiao,
Erik Scott, J. Choi, and J. R. Dahn, J. Electrochem. Soc., 159, A1105 (2012).
6. http://www.cszindustrial.com/Products/Custom-Designed-Chambers/Battery-Test-
Chambers.aspx, last accessed Sept 10, 2012.
7. http://www.wut.com/en/areas_of_application/renewable_energy/energy_storage/
schunk01.c.61501.en?_pid=51810, last accessed Sept 10, 2012.
8. L. J. Krause, L. D. Jensen, and J. R. Dahn, J. Electrochem. Soc., 159, A937 (2012).
) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 14.139.38.10 Downloaded on 2014-08-12 to IP