UN 38.3 Ensuring Safe Transportation of Lithium Batteries

T6 – Impact / Crush

The impact and crush tests are designed to simulate a packaging failure or mishandling during shipping. These tests are only applicable to cells, and the choice of test depends on the cell's geometry.

The impact test is performed on cylindrical cells greater than or equal to 18 mm in diameter while the crush is performed on all other cells.

The impact test uses a 9.1 kg mass to impact the cylindrical cell along its longest axis. The mass drops from 61 cm above the cell. Through the use of an MGA drop tower, these exact parameters can be duplicated.

In the crush test, the cell is crushed between two flat surfaces until the applied force meets 13kN, the cell voltage drops by 100mV, or the cell is deformed by 50% or more of its original thickness. This is performed using our hydraulic crush system.