Design and construction of the test bench for battery cell investigations during the thermal runaway

Energy storage plays a vital role in integrating intermittent renewable energy sources and power systems. Lithium-ion batteries exhibit favourable characteristics among all available energy storage technologies. Yet, the commercial application of lithium-ion batteries is limited due to three major issues safety, life and cost. Among safety, thermal runaway is the primary obstacle. Improvement in safety can be achieved by analysing the behaviour of a lithium-ion battery during thermal runaway. Since the fire, explosions and toxic substances are expected during thermal runway, it can be hazardous in an open environment. Moreover, precise measurement would be complicated due to external influences. Therefore, a thermal runaway test must be executed in an isolated surrounding. This work aims to develop a safe test bench and provide an isolated environment for battery abuse tests. A development of a safe test bench with some unique characteristics compared to the state of art test benches is ongoing at Fraunhofer ISE. This thesis is a cornerstone of the development work.
The purpose of the thesis is limited to the design the body of the test bench, excluding the interior. The safe, lightweight and uncomplicated design has been achieved by succeeding the iterative steps of the engineering design process. After the evaluation of existing concepts, the closing mechanism and holding structure have been developed. The work also includes the selec tion procedure of material for the test reactor and components, designing of the components, a leak-proof closing mechanism, and auxiliary components like bearings, gasket, etc. Each compo nent of the test bench underwent the static (FEA) simulation in Autodesk Inventor Professional 2018. Lastly, Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) of the components, maintenance and future suggestions have been discussed.