Cycling Results of Mechanically Damaged Li-Ion Batteries

This paper presents comparison of cycling data of mechanically damaged 18650 lithium-ion cells versus intact ones. Three intact and three indented cells were tested for more than 80 cycles. Comparison of the cycle data showed that there was no significant difference between the intact and indented cells in terms of electrical performance, even at high C-rates. The results show that if the mechanical damage does not cause a short circuit, then using the battery may not pose an immediate danger, at least in the studied deformation scenario. Further, using electrical response and charge/discharge data that we have studied so far, one cannot estimate the extent of mechanical damage after an incident, and a more thorough inspection of the cells would be required. We note that the results cannot be extended to other types of batteries or other mechanical damage scenarios without further investigation.