Battery Vented (pic's)

[Thanatos]

I was asked to post some pictures of a 10280 LI-Ion battery I received in the mail that aparently vented during transit, so here they are. Regretfully, not much of a story. The cell arived inside the plastic bag with my newly acquired Draco. Some of the bag was melted around the battery and the blue battery covering was a little warped as well.

The pictures are taken a week or two after battery arrived.

Noticable corosion.

(Cardboard?) Top is discolored. Heat? Chemical? Not sure.

Melted Bag.

If the pictures don't show let me know.

 

[DM51]

Thanks for doing this, Thanatos. The 10280 Li-Ion is a small cell but this could have been very nasty, for example if it had started a fire.

Did you get another battery with it, and if so, what was its voltage when you received it? Also, was it shipped from overseas for you - would it have travelled by air mail at any stage?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Thanatos,

Welcome to CPF.

Very interesting... Thanks for sharing.

The RC people have reported a bad batch of Li-Po batteries. They puff on their own sometimes even before use. This has been traced back to a bad mix of chemicals. I wonder if we will see some of this same behavior in Li-Ion cells. Li-Ion cells can't puff, but they will vent.

Tom

 

[Thanatos]

Thanks for the warm welcome Tom.

If I remember correctly the battery within the Draco was a healthy 4.18V, or thereabouts.

I was into RC for years, even worked as a specialist at the local hobby/race shop, albeit with a Nitro preference. Got out of it for a few years and when I got back I was supprised by the new Li-I-Po technologies. When I was really into it before NIMH was ruling king.

Whole new world now.

 

[VidPro]

i wonder sometimes if this has anything to do with atmospheric pressure in a transit device , umm in english. if the cargo hold of an airplane depressurised. because that would cause the vent to open, without causing an EVENT, thereby you get corrosive elements departing, but not explosive activity.

i hear of an urban legend that dogs shipped in cargo holds have lost thier hearing from improper cargo hold pressure (meaning dont know if it true).
and knowing that the releace mechanism in there is dependant on there being "one atmosphere" of pressure not more not less.

or if the battery just wasnt sealed properly to begin with , but there is no fun conspiracy theroy in that, is there

because it looks like corrosion from chemical and solvent releace, not rapid exaustion, or firey death.

 

[Marduke]

i wonder sometimes if this has anything to do with atmospheric pressure in a transit device , umm in english. if the cargo hold of an airplane depressurised. because that would cause the vent to open, without causing an EVENT, thereby you get corrosive elements departing, but not explosive activity.

i hear of an urban legend that dogs shipped in cargo holds have lost thier hearing from improper cargo hold pressure (meaning dont know if it true).
and knowing that the releace mechanism in there is dependant on there being "one atmosphere" of pressure not more not less.

or if the battery just wasnt sealed properly to begin with , but there is no fun conspiracy theroy in that, is there

because it looks like corrosion from chemical and solvent releace, not rapid exaustion, or firey death.

Cargo holds in airplanes are pressurized, same as the cabin. That's why your pets don't die in transit, and items aren't frozen when you get them in the baggage claim.

 

[VidPro]

yes they are supposed to be, but either of them can become depressurised , right?
and if there is a seperation between the humans and the cargo, then one could become depressurised when the other was doing just fine.
i dont suppose there are drop down O2 masks in your dogs carrier

 

[Cuso]

Cargo holds in airplanes are pressurized, same as the cabin. That's why your pets don't die in transit, and items aren't frozen when you get them in the baggage claim.

He said IF the cargo hold depressurized...By the corrosion on top of the battery, this looks like a chem leak.

 

[Marduke]

yes they are supposed to be, but either of them can become depressurised , right?
and if there is a seperation between the humans and the cargo, then one could become depressurised when the other was doing just fine.
i dont suppose there are drop down O2 masks in your dogs carrier

Separation, yes. Does depressurization ever happen? No. Only way one compartment would become depressurized while the other was not would be a big hole in the side of the plane. Seals are checked before each takeoff. If either doesn't seal, plane doesn't take off.

Your venting battery was definitely not caused by depressurization. It simply doesn't happen.

 

[DM51]

There is routine partial depressurisation on all aircraft - it happens on every flight. It varies from one airline to another, but typically, passenger compartment pressure is maintained at the equivalent of ~7,000 feet altitude, which is ~75% of atmospheric pressure at sea-level.

That is why your ears pop, babies yell, liquid containers in baggage leak and batts vent. The associated hypoxia probably also contributes to air-rage, although this is more to do with claustrophobia and excessive alcohol consumption.

This venting incident however was a "hot" one. I am wondering if the fact that the cell was shipped fully charged triggered this incident, or if, as SilverFox notes in post #3, there may have been a bad batch of chemicals used in the cell.

Li-Ion cells are usually shipped at ~3.8V (~40% charge).