FAILURE AND RISKS ANALYSIS
Failure and risks analysis are consisting of a wide variety of tests and methods to analyze batteries with degraded performance. The analyses are such as electrical performance measurements, protection circuit analysis, X-ray analysis and tear down analysis.
2D X-RAY ANALYSIS
2D X-ray are performed to analyze the internal construction of the battery or electronic device. X-ray is also very useful method to verify if the manufacturer has produced the cells with uniform and high quality.
3D X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCANNING
3D X-ray analysis can be done for handheld device-sized batteries such as smart phone batteries or cylindrical 18650 cells. 3D enables closer analysis of the internal parts without disassembling the cells. Electrode alignments and positions of other metallic parts can be checked in 3D format.
TEARDOWN ANALYSIS
Pack and Cell teardown analysis is an efficient way to assess the design and production quality of the battery.
SEM/EDX
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)/ Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). SEM enables a very detailed analysis of the electrode materials and the detection of the type and size of the active particles. EDX enables measuring the elemental composition of the materials. Together they provide a powerful tool for examining the types of materials used in the cell. This analysis can also be used for Failure analysis if unexpected particles or such are discovered in the sample.
FMEA ANALYSIS
FMEA analysis is a powerful tool to reveal potential risks in the design or manufacturing process of the cells, modules and battery packs. Furthermore, FMEA is carried out to cover the charging system of the application. Each sub part and their interactions are studied in order to review the risks of the whole system comprehensively. A systematic FMEA help R&D to find potential errors in early phase thus reduce development time.
THERMAL ANALYSIS
In Thermal analysis for example heat capacity of the cell is measured in order to enable heat production simulations of battery modules and packs.