Novel NDE of Defects in Li Ion Batteries

Lithium ion batteries (LiB) have driven explosive growth in small personal electronic devices due to their light weight and high energy capacity. Other expanding markets for LiB technology include commercial electric vehicles and aerospace (spacecraft, satellites, UAVs). All these uses need ever higher energy capacities, which increase the chance for defects leading to degraded performance or thermal run-away. Portable, high sensitivity non-destructive (NDE) instruments and methods are required to quickly identify and locate defects in LiB long before shorts or dendrite formation result in catastrophic thermal run away. To meet this need, TDA proposes a novel NDE technique based off small amplitude electromagnetic stimulation and detection with a highly sensitive detector. The proposed instrument leverages brand new work in laboratory MRI to create a portable, inexpensive, but still highly sensitive instrument.