3D Xray tests compares name brand cells to knockoffs...and finds identifiable problems in the cheap stuff

[classicalgas]

"Nearly 8 percent of lithium-ion batteries from questionable low-cost brands could have dangerous manufacturing defects"

"Lumafield has released the results of a new study of lithium-ion batteries that “reveals an enormous gap in quality between brand-name batteries and low-cost cells” that are readily available through online stores including Amazon and Temu. The company used its computed tomography (CT) scanners, capable of peering inside objects in 3D using X-rays, to analyze over 1,000 lithium-ion batteries. It found dangerous manufacturing defects in low-cost and counterfeit batteries that could potentially lead to fires and explosions."

from here...https://www.theverge.com/news/784966/lumafield-x-ray-ct-scan-lithium-ion-battery-risks-manufacturing-defect?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

 

[amberwolf]

I am only surprised at the low percentage number.

 

[amberwolf]

Their page doesn't have much in the way of full imagery but a quick web image search finds a few interesting ones

 

[classicalgas]

I'd always assumed the increased fire risk associated with low quality cells had to do with poor quality electrolyte, or jelly roll layering issues, not packaging/crimping failures. Evidently that's not the case.

Or maybe that stuff just doesn't show up in scans.

 

[amberwolf]

Well, since AFAICT they didn't scan cells that had already failed and burned, their scans don't actually tell you which things are causes of fires. They just tell you which things are different between the various cells.

It's a likely assumption that various manufacturing defects can lead to fires, if the cells that have more fires are by those manufacturers with such defects. But if not, then it's not really known which of the things seen in the scans cause the fires, simply by the scans themselves.

It's like the old story (true or not) about the planes that came back with holes in various parts of the fuselage needing to be beefed up in those areas....but actually those that came back with all those holes *came back*, so they survived despite the holes. The ones that didn't come back probably had holes in the places the ones that did come back didn't have holes in, so armoring *those* areas would probably help more.

So...what you see in a scan of things that didn't fail yet doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the ones that did fail.