SABATAIRSafe Lithium batteries transport by air:
Project introduction
Khiem Trad, Phd, VITO/EnergyVilleLes Atelier des Tanneurs, Brussels – November 14th, 2019
SaBatAir Project (Safe Battery Transport by air)
Research project funded by the European Union, coordinated by VITO and supervised by EASA and DG MOVE with the support of a Scientific Committee
The Consortium:
Context
o The current cargo compartment fire suppression systems are not capable
of controlling fires with Li metal and Li‐ion batteries.
‐> ICAO approved a ban for Li‐metal and Li‐ion batteries to be transported
as cargo in passenger aircrafts.
o ICAO is working on development of performance standards for packaging
for a safe transport of Li batteries for passenger and freighter aircrafts.
This work was tasked to SAE G27.
Context
Study and asses the effectiveness of potential mitigating measures that can be used to enhance safety when transporting lithium metal and lithium ion
batteries on board an aircraft.
Project main objectives
o Assessment of the effectiveness of the test methods as described in draft SAE G27 AS6413
o Study and assess the effectiveness of potential mitigating measures against fire risk related to the transport of lithium metal and lithium ion batteries on large airplanes.
o Develop guidelines to support the production of a safety risk assessment for operators.
Project main objectives
Objective 1: The assessment of the definition and of the effectiveness of the test methods defined in the draft SAE AS6413
The SAE Aerospace Standard (AS) specifies a minimum performance package standard that supports the safe shipment of lithium batteries as cargo on aircraft.
SAE AS6413: “Performance based package standard for lithium batteries as cargo on aircraft”
Give inputs and recommendations to the SAE G‐27 committee
Project main objectives
Objective 2: Identification and assessment of additional mitigating measures related to packaging solutions or based on multi‐layered approaches
The goal of this task 2 is to propose additional mitigating measures that can be used together with packaging.
Based on: Review of existing standards for lithium batteries Review of existing packaging standards Identification of the current state of the art for mitigating measures Assessment of SAE G27 draft standard
Project main objectives
Objective 3: Evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed mitigating measures in addition to the on‐board‐fire protection facilities, through testing in an environment representative of a typical large aeroplane Class C cargo compartiment
Fire tests under aircraft cargo conditions was performed, i.e. a cargo compartment in wide body size fulfilling the requirements for MPS testing and equipped with fire load. The cargo compartment is equipped with a halon 1301 fire suppression.Temperature and gas sensors are installed inside the cargo compartment and the videos of the tests were recorded.
Identification of all scenarios leading to negative consequences for the aircraft Based on the different results of the first project deliverables a risk assessment of the carriage of lithium batteries was done taking into account the different shipping steps.
Project main objectives
Objective 4: Develop a generic risk assessment method aimed at supporting air transport operators in defining the appropriate requirements for a safe transport of battery consignments.
SaBatAir Project (Safe Battery Transport by air)
Note: the information included in the Sabatair consortium presentations are provisional, as the research
project is still on‐going.
The content of the Sabatair consortium presentations does not reflect the official opinion of the European
Union nor EASA. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in this presentation lies entirely
with the author(s).
Project context‐ Lithium battery demand and productionGlobal battery industry growth rate by application and by region
“Between 2010 and 2018, battery demand
grew by 30% annually and reached a
volume of 180 GWh in 2018 and is
expected to grow by a factor of ~14 to
reach ~ 2,600 GWh in 2030.”
Source: World Economic Forum, Global Battery Alliance; McKinsey analysis
Project context‐ Lithium battery demand and productionForecast global battery production capacity for existing and committed projects to 2023
Source: The Lithium ion battery value chain: New economy opportunities for Australia, December 2018
Controlled: it releases electrical power (current and voltage)
A lithium ion battery is a stored chemical energy
Project context‐Why Lithium‐ion batteries present a risk?
Uncontrolled: it can vent, releases toxic materials, deflagration, fire…
Lithium‐ion batteries combine highly energetic materials in contact with a flammable electrolyte based on organic solvents
Project context‐ How a Lithium‐ion battery fails?Battery failures can give rise to both reliability and safety concerns.
The battery failures can be: energetic and non‐energetic
It depends upon whether the initiating fault can cause sufficient heat of the cell to lead to a self‐sustaining exothermic
reaction.
Causes Gas and Heat generation
Heat dissipation < Heat generation
Heat dissipation > Heat generation Non energetic failure
Thermal runaway
Cell temperature increase
Exothermic reaction
Thermal runaway
Increase of the reactions rate
Non‐energetic failures
Loss of capacity, increase of internal resistance,…
Electrolyte leakage with subsequent cell dry‐out
Separator’s shutdown: as the temperature of a cell increases, the lower melting component melts and fills the pores of
the other solid layer and stops ion transport and current flow in the cell.
Cell swelling: caused by a variety of non‐ideal chemical reactions including overcharge, elevated temperature aging…
Causes Gas and Heat generation
Heat dissipation > Heat generation Non energetic failure
Project context‐ How a Lithium‐ion battery fails?
Energetic failures
The heat generation exceeds the heat loss
Rapid self‐heating of a cell derived from the
exothermic chemical reactions
Causes Gas and Heat generation
Heat dissipation < Heat generation Energetic failure
Project context‐ How a Lithium‐ion battery fails?
A. W. Golubkov, D. Fuchs, J. Wagner, H. Wiltsche, C. Stangl, G. Fauler, G. Voitic, A. Thaler, and V. Hacker, “Thermal‐runaway experiments on consumer Li‐ion batteries with metal‐oxide and olivine‐type cathodes,” RSC Adv., vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 3633–3642, 2014.
It can happen with batteries of almost any chemistry
Source: John T. Warner, in Lithium‐Ion Battery Chemistries, 2019
Non-energetic failures can be linked to energetic failures
Project context‐ How a Lithium‐ion battery fails?
When gas release (venting) happens (even below 100degC) without or before thermal runaway
Gas and Smoke
No ignition
Instant or delayed ignition(autoignition due to hot parts/electrical connections, sparks, external source, etc)
Cell explosion
Delayed ignition of released gases mixed with air
in a confined/semiconfined space can be much
more severe than one cell explosion
Source: Gas explosions and thermal runaways during external heating abuse of commercial lithium‐ion graphite‐LiCoO2 cells at different levels of ageing, Frederik Larsson, Journal of Power Sources 373 (2018) 220–231
Is fire (always)bad?
Project context‐ Thermal runaway propagation
Thermal runaway propagation is determined by the balance between heat generation and heat removal
Depending on where and when it happens, reactions to thermal runaway (delay, stop, mitigate) are defined depending on the risk to be mitigated i,e, no fire/explosion, little gas/smoke…
Project context‐ Thermal runaway causesReasons of battery failure include:
Poor cell design (electrochemical or mechanical)
Cell manufacturing defects
Cell’s ageing
External abuse of cells (thermal, mechanical, or electrical)
Poor module/battery pack design or manufacture
Poor protection electronics design or manufacture
Poor charger or system design or manufacture
Combinations of all of the above
C. Mikolajczak, M. Kahn, K. White, and R. T. Long, “Lithium‐Ion Batteries Hazard Use Assessment,” no. July, 2011.
A. Barai, “Transportation Safety of Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries ‐ A Feasibility Study of Storing at Very Low States of Charge,” Sci. Rep., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2017.
Project context‐ Thermal runaway causes
Manufacturing defects Cell contamination Electrode damage Electrode tab burrsWeld splattersWrinkles Electrode misalignment
C. Mikolajczak, M. Kahn, K. White, and R. T. Long, “Lithium‐Ion Batteries Hazard and Use Assessment,” no. July, 2011.
Copper trimming found on electrode
Source: Mike Eska, Case study of a very expensive fire, 10th Battery safety summit 2019
Project context‐ Thermal runaway causes
Thermal abuse
The most direct way to exceed thermal stability limits of a Li‐ion cell is to expose it to external
heating e.g. high temperature, flame, contact with adjacent cells undergoing thermal runaway
reactions
FAA battery thermal abuse test
Project context‐ Thermal runaway causes
Mechanical abuse: Crush Puncture Drop Vibration Water immersion
Effectiveness of crush or penetrationC. Mikolajczak, M. Kahn, K. White, and R. T. Long, “Lithium‐Ion Batteries Hazard and
Use Assessment,” no. July, 2011.
Mechanical abuse has the possibility of creating an immediate failure (e.g. short circuit leading to a thermal runaway) or can create a default that can lead to a failure after several cycles.
Project context‐ Thermal runaway causesElectrical abuse:Overcharge/Over‐discharge: can occur when the cell’s voltage limits are not respected or when the cell is charged with excessive current. It can occur if the control electronics failure or cell imbalance within a series/parallel connected battery.
External Short Circuit : is the most common type of battery abuse condition. It can be caused by defective connections, foreign debris, mishandling …All test protocols (for shipping approval as well as use environments) include short circuit tests
A. Barai, “Transportation Safety of Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries ‐ A Feasibility Study of Storing at Very Low States of Charge,” Sci. Rep., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2017.
External short‐circuit tests performedat different states of charge
Project context‐ Thermal runaway influencing factors
Source: Frederik Larsson et al, Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium‐ion battery fires, Nature Scientific Reports volume 7, (2017)
The extent of an energetic failure in lithium ion cells
The energy contained State of charge Battery chemistry Battery state of health (not enough data yet)
The way it interacts with the surrounding Heat transfer environment
Values for fire tests (full combustion) on 7 different commercial Li‐ion cells
Literature values give ratios 0.5 ‐ 2 , using other methods
Project context‐ Thermal runaway influencing factorsThe extent of an energetic failure in lithium ion cells
The energy contained State of charge Battery chemistry Battery state of health (not enough data yet)
The way it interacts with the surrounding Heat transfer environment
A. W. Golubkov, D. Fuchs, J. Wagner, H. Wiltsche, C. Stangl, G. Fauler, G. Voitic, A. Thaler, and V. Hacker, “Thermal‐runaway experiments on consumer Li‐ion batteries with metal‐oxide and olivine‐type cathodes,” RSC Adv., vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 3633–3642, 2014.
Project context‐ Thermal runaway influencing factorsThe extent of an energetic failure in lithium ion cells
The energy contained State of charge Battery chemistry Battery state of health (not enough data yet)
The way it interacts with the surrounding Heat transfer environment
Likelihood of internal faults going into thermal runaway is increased with high ambient temperatures or adiabatic insulation
If the cells are closely packed with insufficient heat sink, the thermal runaway in one cell can propagate to nearby cells
In some large cells, there is an issue of insufficient heat transfer within the cell themselves
Many Thanks and Gratitude to:
Enzo Canari (EASA), Alex McCulloch (UPS), Claude Chanson (Recharge), Stefan Sauerbier (DHL), Andreas Vahl (SAREL consult), Jan Boettcher (EASA), Lia Calleja‐Barcena (EASA), Hoang Vu Duc (DG MOVE), Antonio Colacio (DG MOVE), Michael Meyer (DLR), Alexandros Nikolian (Greenfish), Myriam Struelens (Greenfish), Vladimir Jovanovic (InsPyro), Sander Arnout (InsPyro), Grabit, and of course Steven Burns, Polly Wong, Niles Fleisher, Konstantin Kallergis, André Freiling, Paul Horner, Mats O. Bäckström, VITO/EnergyVille (Daan, Hans, Jan, Filip, Kristof, Steven Van Deun, Paulien, Nathalie, Bieke, Romina, Vicky…)…
And Thank you for your attention!
Any Question?
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