Thermal-Runaway

With the battery calorimeter it is possible to determine the heat development of a battery at different temperatures and at different charging and discharging currents with high precision. These data are of fundamental importance for the correct design of thermal management systems. This prevents the formation of a so-called thermal runaway which can lead to a battery fire.

Our calorimeter heats batteries up to a temperature of 300 °C for safety-relevant tests. Temperatures and heat quantities of thermal decomposition reactions of the individual battery components such as the electrodes, the electrolyte and the separator can be measured precisely. The thermal effects generated by the battery are measured using the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) method. The sensor consists of thermocouples and is calibrated over the melting temperature and melting enthalpy of 5 substances. Subsequently, measurements between 20-300 °C with a resolution of 0.001 K and 10 µW-370 mW can be carried out.