Battery Smasher

10:10 AM
imtracynotstacy: Good morning

eproth2: Good morning. I wasn't sure that this was going to work

imtracynotstacy: Could you tell me where you are writing to me from?

eproth2: I am at my home.

imtracynotstacy: And where is home? What city?

eproth2: I am in Albuquerque, NM
10:13 AM

imtracynotstacy: Do you have a long commute to Sandia?

eproth2: I am about 20 minutes across town so it is easy to get to work most days

imtracynotstacy: Very nice.
So the reason we're chatting is because I read that you do some testing in your lab that involves beating up, smashing, and ruining batteries.
That sounded fun.
10:15 AM

eproth2: Yes it is.
We do abuse testing and materials development for new Li ion batteries (like in your laptop) for the Department of Energy's FreedomCAR hybrid electric vehicle program.

imtracynotstacy: Why all that abuse?
10:16 AM

eproth2: Abuse tolerance (safety) is one of the main barriers for bringing Lithium ion batteries into the large scale commercial applications like hybrid vehicles. The Dell laptop failure and the many Li ion battery recalls have shown that safety is still an issue with this chemistry even if he failures are less than 1 in 5 million cells
10:19 AM

imtracynotstacy: Are Li ion batteries more susceptible to failure or something?
10:20 AM

eproth2: Li ion batteries do not fail more often but the consequences of failure are more severe compared to other battery chemistries such nickel metal hydride (used in the Prius) and lead acid. The Li ion cells have a flamable electrolyte that can burn very energetically if the cell ruptures from some abuse event

imtracynotstacy: I see.
So you are testing the extreme tolerances of these batteries, then?
10:23 AM

eproth2: Yes. We look at new chemical compositions of the cell components such as the anode, cathode, separator and electrolyte to try and find materials that are intrinsically more stable. We then build cells (called 18650 cells which are your laptop cells) and subject them to abuse conditions such as ovetemperature, short circuit, overcharge, nail penetration and crush. We also test full size battery packs for the hybrid vehicles both for the DOE and outside battery developers

imtracynotstacy: Talk about a smash lab.
What do you do with the information that you get?
10:27 AM

eproth2: Well, we don't call it that. It is called just the battery abuse laboratory.
We have an area in a larger facility at Sandia called the Explosive Components Facility (ECF). We have 6 concrete bunker type rooms where we perform the abuse tests. The rooms are behind a 2000-pound blast door. We monitor the tests with remote cameras and record all of the data such as temperature, voltage, and currents with our remote data acquiestion systems, which are in the area on the other side of the blast door. We also perform real-time gas analysis of the gases coming off from the batteries during the abuse. We then use that data to put together a complete understanding of the sequence of failures in the battery.

imtracynotstacy: Did you ever think your career path would lead to battery abuse?
10:32 AM

eproth2: This has certainly not been a direct career path to this point. I have been at Sandia for 30 years but have been in the battery group for the last 10 years. My background is in Physics but I mostly do electrochemistry with my battery group. Over my career I have usually been involved with thermal properties of materials so there is some direct line of continuity here.
10:34 AM

imtracynotstacy: Do you like what you do?
10:36 AM

eproth2: The job is very exciting and challenging. I really enjoy being able to make a contribution in an area that will have lasting benefits for everyone in a time of increasing energy challenges.
10:38 AM

imtracynotstacy: What have learned over these years about batteries? Any surprises? Any comparisons between batteries of today vs. those of years ago?
10:39 AM

eproth2: The batteries that have been developed over the last 15-20 years have greatly improved in energy and power density (enegy per weight and volume). Li ion batteries have almost 6 times the energy density of lead acid and 2-3 times the energy density of Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. This has allowed all of the consumer electronic devices that we love such as cell phones and iPods. It will also allow a new type of hybrid car (called a plug-in hybrid) that will have 10 times as much energy as present vehicles. This is a time of exciting new developments that will affect many different areas

imtracynotstacy: I don't own a car right now.
But I'd like to think that when it comes time to buy one, I will be able to buy a plug in
Based on your experience when you do think that will be possible?
10:44 AM

eproth2: The car companies are planning on releasing the first hybrids with Li ion cells starting this year (Mercedes S class). These first vehicles will only be mild hybrids but General Motors claims they will be coming out with the GM volt with 40 mile all electric range (and a small gas engine to extend that range) in 2010. So, in the next 2-4 years we should see several new vehicles of different degrees of all electric range coming on the market.
10:48 AM

imtracynotstacy: That's great. It sounds like I won't have to wait too long.
So would you buy a plug-in?
10:49 AM

eproth2: I am certainly watching very closely to see how these new vehicles actually perform. I would certainly consider buying a plug-in hybrid but probably not the first model to be released. There is a lot to be learned from actually puting these into daily operation.

imtracynotstacy: Until then, will you be dreaming up new ways to abuse batteries?
10:52 AM

eproth2: We are always looking at new abuse conditions that more accurately simulate the real-world abuse possibilities and how to more easily characterize the materials. This will include new ways to develop internal short circuits, new additives to make the cells more stable and developing computer models of the cell abuse response. But it is still always fun to watch things blow up.

imtracynotstacy: I'll bet!
Well, I know you have to get to work. I will let you go.
Thank you for talking about your work.
I hope you won't be late for the lab.

eproth2: No problem. I enjoyed speaking with you today. I hope this information will be useful.

imtracynotstacy: definitely!
Have a good day

eproth2: Good bye
10:57 AM