Battery Passivation

Test Li-Ion battery cells under abuse and extreme conditions encountered after spacecraft disposal in order to assess their safety.

At the end of its operational life a spacecraft undergoes a disposal phase and as a result is left without control. Then the battery may be subject to extreme environmental conditions due to the loss of spacecraft attitude and thermal control. Battery overdischarge or overcharge may also occur. Further battery cells get more and more aged and are then weakened.The goal is to test aged battery cells under various abuse conditions (overdischarge, overcharge, damaged) and different temperatures (hot, cold) in order to check their behaviour and assess their level of safety.This will provide an essential input to define the most adequate means to passivate the battery.