Thermal propagation – battery testing

Thermal propagation – reason

Thermal propagation can be caused by, for example, internal short circuits, overcharging, or manufacturing defects in a battery. There are also other reasons for the propagation, but the consequences are often serious.

Thermal propagation – consequences

A thermal propagation can lead to overheating, fire, melting or explosion. The risk of thermal propagation is thus a critical safety concern in the design, manufacture and use of batteries.

Thermal propagation – how the test is carried out

The thermal propagation test begins with the installation of a battery in the safety-critical testing lab. After that, the battery is subjected to needle penetration, electric heating elements, or flame exposure that creates a temperature rise in the battery.

By installing temperature sensors both on and in the test object, it is possible to follow how the thermal propagation develops. The flue gas that arises from thermal propagation is captured by our hood system. This enables measurements of heat generation, smoke development and toxic substances.

Included in standards for batteries

Thermal propagation is included as a test part (standard testing) in most standards for batteries. Among other things, it is included in these standards: IEC 62619, IEC62660, GBT38031, SAE J2464

Thermal propagation — results from tests

After the test, you will receive the result in the form of raw data from the test's measurements. If you wish, you will also receive a test report with a summary of the results of the test for thermal propagation.

Want to try for thermal propagation?

Want to try batteries for thermal propagation? We've got you covered! Our test environments have high security with thick walls and solid reinforcements. By conducting your tests indoors in our specially designed lab, constant testing conditions and repeatability are guaranteed.