Page 21 - Shimadzu Journal vol.10 Issue1

Materials Science

Analysis of the Cylindrical Lithium-Ion Battery

by X-Ray CT System and Introduction to the

Charge/Discharge Device Attached System

Wataru Sato
Solutions COE, Analytical & Measuring Instruments Division, Shimadzu Corporation

User Benefits
• Microfocus X-ray CT system enables the observation of internal structure in lithium-ion batteries.
• The distance between the electrodes can be measured, and the junction of the positive/negative
terminal leads can be observed.
• The charge/discharge device attached system* enables changes in the internal structure of the
1
battery to be observed after charging and discharging.

Introduction

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are secondary batteries in which Li ions move between the
cathode and anode to charge/discharge, and are classified into three types, cylindrical,
square, and laminated, depending on the shape of the cell. Especially, the cylindrical LIB
is widely used in mobile batteries, notebook computers, etc. because of its low manu-
facturing cost and high energy density. In recent years development for electric vehicles
has been remarkable, and research and development is progressing in pursuit of higher
performance such as higher output and large capacity.
On the other hand, LIBs may have manufacturing defects such as short circuits due
to foreign matter mixed in the electrodes and unwinding, and such defects may result in
combustion and explosion accidents. Therefore setting the manufacturing conditions for
development prototypes and their inspection are important. The X-ray CT system (Fig.
1) is an effective tool for analyzing the inside of batteries non-destructively.
This article introduces analyses of a cylindrical LIB using an X-ray CT system and the
charge/discharge device attached system.
Fig. 1 Microfocus X-Ray CT System inspeXio™ SMX™-
*1 The charging/discharging device must be provided by the customer. 225CT FPD HR Plus

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