Insight into Health Deterioration Induced by Multi-Cycle External Short Circuits in Commercial 18650 lithium-Ion Battery

Abstract

External short circuit (ESC) can cause rapid temperature rise and even failure of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in a short time. To better identify the ESC-related hazards and analyze the influencing mechanisms, we have carried out repeated ESC tests for the first time and investigated the compound effects of multiple factors on ESC. Three ESC conditions of different strengths were set according to different levels of factors such as state of charge (SOC), environmental temperature, ESC duration and multi-cycle short circuits. The results showed that the initial SOC determines the discharge intensity of ESC, while the environmental temperature determines the ESC duration the cell could withstand. Furthermore, the duration and cycles of ESC determine the cumulative damage to the cell and promote the cell capacity attenuation or even disconnection. And cell disconnection is induced by current interrupt device activation. The thermal behavior of cell has hysteresis characteristics, and the initial low temperature can effectively reduce the temperature rise of cell caused by ESC. The electrochemical impedance results show that the increase of cell impedance is related to the increase of charge transfer resistance and solid electrolyte interface resistance.