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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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116 records · Page 7

A Comparison of Two Panasonic Lithium-Ion Batteries and Cells for the IBM Thinkpad

The IBM Thinkpad 760XD has been used in the Orbiter and International Space Station since 2000. The Thinkpad is powered by a Panasonic Li-ion battery that has a voltage of 10.8 V and 3.0 Ah capacity. This Thinkpad is now being replaced by the IBM Thinkpad A31P which has a Panasonic Li-ion battery that has a voltage of 10.8 V and 4.0 Ah capacity. Both batteries have protective circuit boards. The Panasonic battery for the Thinkpad 760XD had 12 Panasonic 17500 cells of 0.75 Ah capacity in a 4P3S cOnfiguration. The new Panasonic battery has 6 Panasonic 18650 cells of 2.0 Ah capacity in a 2P3S configuration. The batteries and cells for both models have been evaluated for performance and safety. A comparison of the cells under similar test conditions will be presented. The performance of the cells has been evaluated under different rates of charge and discharge and different temperatures. The cells have been tested under abuse conditions and the safety features in the cells evaluated. The protective circuit board in the battery was also tested under conditions of overcharge, overdischarge, short circuit and unbalanced cell configurations. The results of the studies will be presented in this paper.

Jeevarajan, Judith A.↗

Performance and Safety Characteristics of Sanyo NiCd Cells

NiCd batteries are widely used for high drain applications like power tools and also in other portable equipment like cameras, PCs, etc. NASA and Dreamtime Holdings, Inc. worked together to have the capability of a High Definition TV (HDTV) on the ISS and Space Shuttle. The Sanyo HD camcorder was used on the STS 105 fight in July, 2001 . The camcorder used two versions of a NiCd battery. One was a cOlnmercial off-the-shelf Sony BP90 battery pack that had Sanyo NiCd D cells. The other was a modified battery (FBP-90) made by Frezzi Energy, which also had the same Sanyo NiCd D cells. The battery has 10 NiCd D cells in series to form a 12 V pack with 5.0 Ah capacity. Our current study involved the perforn1ance and abuse tests on the Sanyo NiCd 5.0 Ah D cells. The best combination of charge/discharge current rate is 0.3C for charge and 1/2e for discharge within 200 cycles. No significant changes in capacity were observed in 200 cycles. The cell also showed capability of 5C (25.0A) high rate discharge. In overcharge and overdischarge tests, all tested cells passed the tests without venting. In imbalance tests, the battery pack could be charged and discharged only at relatively low current. At charge current of 1.0A or less, the imbalanced cells in the battery pack displayed relatively high temperatures during charge or discharge. The cells functioned normally during internal short and no mishap occurred during external short. Cells passed exposure tests at 80 C and no leakage till 150 C during heat-tovent tests.

Deng, Yi↗

Safety Limitations Associated with Commercial 18650 Lithium-ion Cells

In the past decade, NASA-JSC battery group has carried out several tests on the safety of li-ion cells, modules and battery packs. The hazards associated with using commercial li-ion cells in high voltage and high capacity batteries have been determined to be different from those associated with the use of the same cells in low voltage, low capacity packs (less than 15 V and 60 Wh). Tests carried out included overcharge, overdischarge, external and internal short circuits with destructive physical analysis included in most cases. Chemical analysis, X-rays and in some cases CT scans were used for post-test analysis.

Jeevarajan, Judith A.↗

A Battery Certification Testbed for Small Satellite Missions

A battery pack consisting of standard cylindrical 18650 lithium-ion cells has been chosen for small satellite missions based on previous flight heritage and compliance with NASA battery safety requirements. However, for batteries that transit through the International Space Station (ISS), additional certification tests are required for individual cells as well as the battery packs. In this manuscript, we discuss the development of generalized testbeds for testing and certifying different types of batteries critical to small satellite missions. Test procedures developed and executed for this certification effort include: a detailed physical inspection before and after experiments; electrical cycling characterization at the cell and pack levels; battery-pack overcharge, over-discharge, external short testing; battery-pack vacuum leak and vibration testing. The overall goals of these certification procedures are to conform to requirements set forth by the agency and identify unique safety hazards. The testbeds, procedures, and experimental results are discussed for batteries chosen for small satellite missions to be launched from the ISS.

Certification↗

NOAA-17 Break-up Engineering Investigation

The NOAA-17 weather satellite operated in polar orbit near 800 km from 2002 until it was decommissioned in April 2013. The spacecraft broke up almost eight years later in March 2021 producing about 100 trackable objects. This follows the breakups of similar spacecraft NOAA-16, DMSP F11, and DMSP F13 which also produced between 80 and 500 trackable objects. An investigation was made into the cause of the breakup and recommend how to better operate or decommission spacecraft in the future. The NOAA-17 breakup was found to be a single, localized debris event; there is likely no catastrophic damage to the whole spacecraft. NOAA-17 debris is very much in family with NOAA-16 debris, and DMSP F11 and F13 are very much in family with each other and share similarities with NOAA-16 and 17; it is likely all four share the same breakup cause. DMSP F13 breakup occurred simultaneous with a known battery overcharge and therefore battery rupture is most likely intermediate cause of all four of the breakups. This is a low confidence assessment, however, since other debris sources cannot be definitively ruled out. No root cause was found as the NOAA-17 batteries were all confirmed to have been disconnected from the charge path as intended. Possible conditions for reconnection are all unlikely including short circuits and ground commanding. All 25 related spacecraft pose a risk of similar breakups for decades to come and are a threat to the critical 800-850 km polar orbit regime; even appropriately decommissioned spacecraft appear to be at risk. Recommendations include an update to the decommissioning procedure and consideration of further investigations and active debris removal, consistent with national policy.

Scott Hull↗

NOAA-17 Break-up Engineering Investigation Board Final Report

The NOAA-17 break-up was found to be a single, localized debris event producing about100 trackable pieces; there is likely no catastrophic damage to the whole spacecraft. NOAA-17 debris is very much in family with NOAA-16 debris, and DMSP F11 and F13 are very much in family with each other and share similarities with NOAA-16 and 17; it is likely all four (“The Big Four”) share the same debris source. DMSP F13 break-up occurred simultaneous with a known battery overcharge and therefore battery rupture is most likely intermediate cause of the Big Four break-ups; this is a low confidence assessment since other debris sources cannot be definitively ruled out. No root cause was found as the NOAA-17 batteries were all confirmed to have been disconnected from the charge path as intended. Possible conditions for reconnection are all unlikely including short circuits and commanding from a “bad actor.” All related spacecraft pose a risk of similar break-ups for decades to come and are a threat to the critical 800-850 km polar orbit regime; even appropriately decommissioned spacecraft appear to be at risk. Recommendations include an update to the decommissioning procedure and consideration of further investigations and active debris removal, consistent with national policy.

Maggie Atkinson↗

Limitations of Internal Protective Devices in High-Voltage/High-Capacity Batteries Using Lithium-Ion Cylindrical Commercial Cells

Most commercial cylindrical 18650 Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) cells have two internal protective devices: the Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) and the Current Interrupt Device (CID). The PTC protects the cells under external short conditions and the CID protects the cells under overcharge conditions. While proven to be effective at the single cell and small-size battery levels, these devices do not always offer protection when used in high-voltage and high-capacity battery designs.

Limitations of Internal Protective Devices↗