In the age of e-mobility, battery-electric drive is becoming increasingly important on our roads, and almost all well-known car manufacturers offer hybrid or fully electric vehicles. And many new suppliers of battery-electric vehicles are entering the market.
The battery plays the central role in electromobility but also in stationary applications and requires special quality standards.
Leak testing in battery technology
The lithium-ion battery is the powerhouse behind electromobility and thus not only forms the heart of the drive system in battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) but is also an integral component of fuel cell vehicles. The buffer battery stores the electrical energy from the fuel cell and supplies it to the electric motor. Thus, the battery is also of great importance in the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).
Battery cells, modules and packs must meet the highest requirements in terms of quality, safety, reliability and durability. The leak tightness of these components plays a decisive role in quality. This is exactly where our innovative leak test comes into play. Our leak testing sys-tems ensure that even the smallest leaks are detected in battery cells, battery cell housings and lids as well as in end-of-line testing of the filled and sealed battery cell. In addition, bat-tery modules, battery housings and thermal management components are leak tested to en-sure maximum safety, longevity and performance.
Regardless of the shape of the battery cell – prismatic, round or pouch cell – leak testing is es-sential to meet the required quality standards. This applies not only to batteries for electro-mobility, but generally to all types of batteries and applications that rely on high-perfor-mance batteries.
Various leak testing methods are available, such as helium vacuum leak testing for battery cells or cooling units and thermal management components. Furthermore, the leak tightness of battery housings (battery packs) can be checked by means of a fully automated helium sniffing test.
In the manufacturing process, a battery cell filled with electrolyte and finally sealed can no longer be tested for leakage using the helium-vacuum method. This risk is reduced to a mini-mum by a final inspection (EOL = end-of-line inspection). Here, the battery cell is tested for leaks in a vacuum chamber, without helium, but by detecting escaping solvent in the event of a possible leak in the battery cell.
Applications:
- Fully automatic helium-vacuum leak testing of assembled battery cells
- Fully automated and semi-automatic helium vacuum leak testing of battery cell components
- Fully automatic helium sniffing of battery housings and packs
- Operator-independent and fully automated gas bubble detection in water bath by means of ultrasonic of battery housings and packs
- Helium testing of thermal management cooling elements
Application: End-of-Line leak test of a battery cell
- Detection of the most common solvents: DMC, DEC, EMC and PP
- Smallest detectable leak rate = 1 ⋅ 10-6 mbar ⋅ l/s (helium equivalence)
- Short cycle times
- Fully automated process solutions
- Traceable and reliable leak test results
- High safety, reli-ability and battery cell life
