Lithium-Ion Batteries

The special risks associated with conducting crash tests on E-Vehicles can be divided into two main categories; 1) thermal activity inside the battery (resulting from electrical or mechanical abuse) may lead to energetic emission of harmful and/or flammable gases, thermal runaway, and potentially fire, and 2) the risk of electrocution. Procedures to ensure protection from all types of risk must be integrated into the entire crash test process. This informational report is intended to provide guidance in this endeavor using current best practices at the time of this publication. As both battery technology and battery management system technology is in a phase of expansion, the contents of this report must then be gaged against current technology of the time, and updated periodically to retain its applicability and usefulness.
The scope of this document is to provide an understanding of the risks and an overview of the techniques established to reduce the likelihood that an event would cause harm to laboratory personnel and/or property. A laboratory considering E-Vehicle crash testing should work closely with the E-Vehicle manufacturer to identify and understand the risks associated with shipping and handling of their vehicle (pre and post-crash), storage of the vehicle (pre and post-crash), battery system diagnostics procedures, and operation of the vehicle.

This information report provides an overview of a typical high voltage electric propulsion vehicle (xEV) and the associated on-board safety systems typically employed by OEM’s to protect these high voltage systems. The report aims to improve public confidence in xEV safety systems and dispel public misconceptions about the likelihood of being shocked by the high voltage system, even when the vehicle has been damaged. The report will document select high voltage systems used for xEV’s and describe safety systems employed to prevent exposure to the high voltage systems.

This SAE Recommended Practice establishes uniform procedures for testing Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) which are capable of being operated on public and private roads. The procedure applies only to vehicles using batteries as their sole source of power. It is the intent of this document to provide standard tests which will allow for the determination of energy consumption and range for light-duty vehicles (LDVs) based on the Federal Emission Test Procedure (FTP) using the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) and the Highway Fuel Economy Driving Schedule (HFEDS), and provide a flexible testing methodology that is capable of accommodating additional test cycles as needed. Realistic alternatives should be allowed for new technology. Evaluations are based on the total vehicle system's performance and not on subsystems apart from the vehicle.
NOTE: The range and energy consumption values specified in this document are the raw, test-derived values. Additional corrections are typically applied to these quantities when used for regulatory purposes (Corporate Average Fuel Economy, vehicle labeling, etc.).