Lithium Batteries have not always had the best of times in recent years. Remember the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco? And the Boeing Dreamliner that might have caught alight? Lithium batteries catch fire or even explode when they short circuit. This can be due to accidental trauma, bad manufacture, or progressive deterioration. News just out suggests lithium batteries with perforated fracture lines could reduce collateral damage because they won’t disintegrate.
Inspired Thinking from Oak Ridge, Tennessee
The inspiration for lithium-ion batteries with perforated fracture lines comes from scientists working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee. This is a federally funded research laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
They wondered whether it might be possible to reproduce the spider-web-cracking pattern of safety glass. Because this could enable a controlled disintegration of a lithium battery instead of a dangerous explosion.
How Lithium Batteries with Perforated Fracture Lines Work
We must first emphasize that this is new research since all we have is a single prototype. The scientists cut split perforated fracture lines in the surface of a flat lithium battery to form a grid.
They reasoned that this would enable controlled disintegration of the battery, affecting only the damaged area. When they punctured one module of the grid, the other 93% of the prototype continued working. When they did the same to a standard battery, it failed completely.
Important New Research for the Electric Car Industry
The damage caused by exploding batteries in hover boards has shocked us. The thought of a lithium electric car battery exploding in a collision takes this to new levels of concern. We have heard of incidents where they caught fire on impact.
Moreover, the new technology would not add much to production costs according to the scientists. Hence, we encourage the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to expedite its research into lithium batteries with perforated fracture lines.
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Preview Image: Oak Ridge Campus
