This testing results presented specifically apply to secondary lithium-based cells, which due to their high energy density provide the best solution to electrical energy storage in electric vehicle and other high-demand applications.
Performance testing examines the thermal response of the battery while charging and discharging, as well as finding the fundamental thermal property of average heat capacity which can be used in computer modelling. Performance testing can also help establish the operational limits of the battery, such as minimum and maximum operating temperatures, charging rates or battery life.
Safety testing involves taking the battery beyond these safe operating limits and introducing conditions that will prevent further operation of the battery due to damage. The types of abuse are often based on standard protocols and are those that a battery might rarely be exposed to in the event of damage or system failure.
These abuse tests can be further divided depending on the type of abuse; physical such as crushing, piercing etc, electrical such as overcharging or short circuiting, or thermal, which is the “original” ARC method of increasing the temperature in steps until self-heating of the sample occurs.