Correlated Solutions recently assisted in an important research project in the College of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina with members of Dr. Austin Downey’s research group who are investigating the degradation parameters of rapidly discharging Lithium-ion batteries in the ARTS lab (Adaptive Real-Time Systems). In some cases – especially in defense and aerospace applications – it is necessary to push battery performance to extreme limits. Dr. Downey’s team, working with support from the NSF and Airforce Research Laboratory are using a NHR 9200 Battery Test System to investigate the material characteristics of an 18650 2500mAh 20A battery as it rapidly discharges.

In this test, the focus is on Current Interrupt Devices (CID). CIDs play a critical role in ensuring safety in high-performance battery applications by interrupting current flow when it exceeds a predetermined safe limit. This prevents battery cells from overheating, which can lead to damage, fire, or even explosion. In high-performance batteries that are designed to deliver large amounts of current very quickly, this protection is essential to prevent catastrophic failure.

In this study, for the first time, a novel full-field three dimensional (3D) blister test via stereo-digital image correlation (StereoDIC) was developed to characterize the interfacial interaction between as-grown graphene on nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) substrates, respectively.