The core working principle of the battery aging cabinet is to simulate the long-term use process of batteries in different environments and charging and discharging conditions, and screen out batteries with unstable performance or substandard lifespan through continuous monitoring of key parameters.
Its workflow is mainly divided into three core modules: environmental simulation, cyclic charging and discharging, and parameter monitoring, as follows:
With built-in temperature control and humidity control systems, the battery is provided with environmental conditions close to actual applications, accelerating the aging process.
- Temperature control: The adjustable range is usually -40°C~85°C, covering extreme scenarios such as high temperature exposure and low temperature and cold, simulating the use environment of the battery in different regions and seasons.
- Humidity control: Some high-end devices support 20%~90% RH humidity adjustment to simulate the impact of humid environment on batteries (especially lithium-ion batteries) and troubleshoot the risk of leakage and bulging.
According to the preset charging and discharging strategies (such as constant current charging, constant voltage charging, pulse discharging, etc.), the battery is repeatedly charged, discharging cycles are carried out to simulate the daily use loss of the battery and quickly expose potential problems.
- Charging stage: Set the charging current and voltage limit according to the battery type (such as lithium battery, lead-acid) to avoid electrode damage caused by overcharging.
- Discharge stage: Discharge to the lower voltage limit at a fixed or variable current to simulate the battery power supply process and accelerate the decay of active materials.
- Number of cycles: hundreds to tens of thousands of cycles can be preset, corresponding to the service life of the battery from several months to several years, to achieve the purpose of "verifying long-term reliability in a short time".
During the aging process, the key performance parameters of the battery are collected in real time, compared with the standard value, and abnormal batteries are automatically flagged.
- Core monitoring parameters: including charging and discharging voltage, current, capacity, internal resistance, temperature, etc., these parameters directly reflect the battery's power storage capacity, charging and discharging efficiency and safety.
- Judgment criteria: When the battery has a capacity attenuation of more than 20%, a significant increase in internal resistance (such as an increase of more than 50%), or an abnormal jump in the charging voltage, the system determines that it is "aging unqualified" and triggers an alarm or automatic sorting.
The essence of the battery aging cabinet is a "reliability screening device", and the ultimate purpose includes:
- Eliminate early failure batteries: Screen out batteries with hidden defects (such as uneven electrode materials, electrolyte impurities) before leaving the factory to avoid failures in the short term after installation.
- Verify life indicators: Verify that the battery has reached its design life (e.g., lithium battery requires capacity retention rate of 80% after 1000 cycles≥ by accelerating aging).
- Optimize battery design: Analyze parameter changes during the aging process to provide data support for battery material and structure improvements (such as adjusting electrode coating thickness and optimizing electrolyte formulation).
