Richard and Scott, Interestingly, some years ago I worked on a project involving a reaction calorimeter. One use (for some customers) was to test battery chemistries for just this type of runaway condition.
The materials being tested were heated in a containment vessel until an exothermic reaction occurred. Temperature and pressure were both tracked throughout. The idea was to determine the conditions preceding a runaway reaction so that protection could be added to battery packs to keep them below the critical temperature and pressure. I suspect the Li-ion failures involve a flaw in the protection scheme implementation rather than a lack of understanding the mechanism of failure. In the meantime I would advise anyone using Lithium-ion batteries to avoid recharging heavily discharged ones until they have cooled for a while. The same goes for drawing high current immediately after a charge. Scott B. Lacey On 7 Jul 2008 at 22:29, Scott Xe wrote: > Richard, > > If you want to prevent the battery pack from explosion/fire, compliance of > those standards might not accomplish it for the time being. UL 2054, UL > 1642 and UL 60950-1 were prepared and published before Sony's battery > recall. All the standards are being revised to address the issue. After a > large scale of Sony's battery recall, the Li-ion battery pack continues to > explode and catch fire in a smaller scale. The users are awaiting the new > replacement of battery pack or a firm solution to the probable explosion of > existing Li-ion battery pack. > > Regards. > > Scott > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > [email protected] > Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 12:24 AM > To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] > Subject: RE: UL 2054 testing for lithium batteries > > Also.....For end use systems seeking compliance with UL 60950-1, see > Annex P.1 with reference to cl. 4.3.8 > > Kaz > [email protected] > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron > Pickard, RPQ > Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:07 AM > To: 'Brian O'Connell'; '[email protected]' > Subject: RE: UL 2054 testing for lithium batteries > > Richard, > > > > IMHO, if the lithium batteries are user replaceable (such as a removable > battery pack), then they would need to be separately approved to UL > 2054. I > say that because in my experience, UL has required it in past Listing > efforts of products with them. And, if this is a cell phone application, > please note that the CTIA has recently imposed requirements for lithium > batteries. > > Supporting this, from UL2054's scope: > > > > - These requirements cover portable primary (nonrechargeable) and > secondary > (rechargeable) batteries for use as power sources in products. These > batteries consist of either a single electrochemical cell or two or more > cells connected in series, parallel, or both, that convert chemical > energy > into electrical energy by chemical reaction. > > - These requirements are intended to reduce the risk of fire or > explosion > when batteries are used in a product. The proper use of these batteries > in a > particular application is dependent on their use in a complete product > that > complies with the requirements applicable to such a product. > > - These requirements are intended to cover batteries for general use and > do > not include the combination of the battery and the host product which > are > covered by requirements in the host product > > standard. > > - These requirements are also intended to reduce the risk of injury to > persons due to fire or explosion when batteries are removed from a > product > to be transported, stored, or discarded. > > - These requirements do not cover the toxicity risk that results from > the > ingestion of a battery or its contents, nor the risk of injury to > persons > that occurs if a battery is cut open to provide access to its contents. > > > > The battery manufacturer would quite likely be already aware of all of > this. > They would be the one to approach for getting this work done. > > > > Also, in addition to what Brian stated about shipping, the US and > international shipping authorities have specific testing and labeling > requirements for lithium batteries or products containing lithium > batteries. > Testing involves the UN T1-T8 tests. > > > > IHTH. > > > > Best regards, > > > > Ron Pickard > > RPQ Consulting > > 7372 West Luke Avenue > > Glendale, AZ 85303 > > +623.512-3451 tel, +623.848-9033 fax > > [email protected] > > www.rpqconsulting.com <http://www.rpqconsulting.com/> > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian > O'Connell > Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 7:21 AM > To: '[email protected]' > Subject: RE: UL 2054 testing for lithium batteries > > > > The following are personal opinions only. > > > > In general, conformity to the applicable standard is always > > "necessary"; but not always 'required'. In any case, note that UL > > 1642 is scoped specifically for Li batteries > > > > In particular, 'it depends'. Is the charger and end-use > > installation a fire or shock hazard if a battery, dies a violent > > death ? Is there any normal or abnormal operating condition in > > the charger or the end-use install that could result in battery > > damage/explosion/fire ? > > > > Also, there are separate DOT requirements for the shipment of > > some types of Lithium batteries. > > > > luck, > > Brian > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of > > Gartman, Richard > > Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:51 AM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: RE: UL 2054 testing for lithium batteries > > > > I am looking for when UL 2054 testing is necessary for > > rechargeable lithium batteries? > > > > Required on cell phone batteries? > > Required on consumer electronic? > > > > All perspectives on rechargeable lithium batteries are welcome. > > > > Thank you > > W. Richard Gartman, MS, CSP > > > > - > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > > David Heald: [email protected] > > > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > > > > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > David Heald: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > David Heald: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > > To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] > > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > > Scott Douglas [email protected] > Mike Cantwell [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > David Heald: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
