For Safe Electromobility – Thermographic Testing of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries have gained a key position for almost all new technical developments worldwide in recent years. Portable electrical and electronic devices, the increasingly required decentralised storage for electrical energy from renewable sources and, of course, the entire e-mobility sector are inconceivable without them.

InfraTec thermography for electromobility - Picture credits: © shutterstock / asharkyu
InfraTec thermography electromobility battery technology - Picture credits: © shutterstock / asharkyu
InfraTec thermography - electronics li-ionen-battery, housing - Picture credits: © Studio Dagdagaz / Shutterstock.com
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Advantages of Lithium-ion Batteries

In the foreseeable future, lithium-ion batteries will not only dominate the automotive industry, but also all other applications where the efficient storage of electrical energy is essential. Compared to other battery technologies, they currently have the highest energy density and thus the greatest performance. Apart from a long service life, further benefits of lithium-ion batteries are their high efficiency, the fact that they have a low self-discharge rate and the possibility of reloading them from any state of charge. Lithium-ion batteries range in mass from a few grams up to several hundred kilograms, depending on the application. They provide power between a few milliwatts and several hundred kilowatts. The stored energy ranges from a few milliwatt hours till several hundred kilowatt hours.

Sensitive and Explosive

Lithium-ion batteries are complex multi-layer structures made of different substances and sometimes react very sensitively to external influences such as temperature fluctuations, vibrations, damage or moisture. For this reason, the production and storage of high-performance lithium-ion batteries is associated with very high demands on the safety measures to be taken.

Preventive measures for fire protection, for example, play an important role in the storage and transport of lithium-ion batteries. Due to their property of storing a lot of energy in a very small space, mechanical damage or overheating can lead to the aggressive release of the ingredients and, among other things, cause damage to health when they are inhaled or even fires.

InfraTec thermography electromobility battery technology - danger notice - Picture credits: © shutterstock / nik_nadal

More Safety with Thermographic Systems

The field of application for infrared cameras in the area of lithium-ion battery technology is very diverse. On the one hand, they are a decisive factor in quality assurance, on the other hand, they are used in the monitoring of assembly halls and warehouses in order to reliably detect heat sources and eliminate potential sources of fire even before it emerges.

InfraTec thermography - electronics li-ionen-battery, housing - Picture credits: © Weloveonitsuka / Shutterstock.com

Fields of Application

  • Monitoring of temperature development at storage and workplaces in assembly and storage halls for fire prevention

  • Ensuring compliance with all safety-relevant standards in the manufacture of accumulators

  • Quality assurance: Reliable detection of faulty lithium-ion batteries (contamination, damage, abnormal thermal behaviour)

  • Checking of weld seams, glued joints and tightness of battery housings

Quality Assurance During Manufacture

The lithium-ion battery is the heart of an electric car and any other battery-powered device. Accordingly, the parameters to be met for performance, quality and safety are very high. With the help of thermography, compliance with essential process parameters can already be tested and ensured during the manufacturing process.

System solutions with infrared cameras from InfraTec make it possible, for example, to detect minimal defects and contamination in coatings or defects on the separator foils of lithium-ion batteries and to arrange for their removal. Defect-free coating systems and intact separators not only prevent short circuits and the associated safety risks. They are also the basic prerequisite for high-performance battery warehouses with a long service life. By using thermographic cameras with a resolution up to 5.2 megapixels, even the smallest defects or contaminations can be reliably detected also on larger surfaces.

Thermal imaging is also used to check weld seams, adhesive joints and the tightness of a battery housing. InfraTec's thermally and geometrically high-resolution infrared cameras can be used to create thermographic images that can be analysed to test the quality of joints quickly, precisely and non-destructively.

InfraTec thermography electromobility battery technology - Picture credits: © shutterstock / asharkyu

As a non-contact, non-destructive testing method, thermal imaging helps to detect faults in production at an early stage in order to avoid rejects and minimise rework – and thus to achieve significant cost optimisation in the manufacturing process. InfraTec's infrared cameras can be flexibly adapted to any inspection or measurement task and can be easily and individually integrated into existing system environments.

Monitoring of Warehouses and Assembly Halls

The production and storage of lithium-ion batteries places high demands on safety measures, as they can quickly catch fire when overheated, releasing gases that are hazardous to health.

In order to avoid such thermal scenarios, InfraTec offers the thermal imaging automation solution FIRE-SCAN, which independently monitors and evaluates the temperature development at the workplaces and storage areas in 24/7 operation. It reliably locates heat sources and triggers an alarm when individually defined temperature thresholds are exceeded. The FIRE-SCAN system from InfraTec consists of one or more high-performance infrared cameras and the associated software.

Further details about FIRE-SCAN

Case Studies in Electromobility

InfraTec Thermography Success Story: CAU Kiel

Power Elec­tronics – Effi­cient Control of the Futures Energy

The energy efficiency of electronic components is becoming increasingly important in numerous fields of application. And that is not all: in our electronic and high-tech age, the demand is for even faster active components, higher power densities of miniaturised systems as well as absolute reliability. Along with this, there is the request for environmentally conscious resource procurement and the requirement that the increase in performance of modules should run parallel to lower energy consumption.

Failure Analysis on Electronic Components | ©BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg

Ther­mo­graphy on the Trail of the Fault

Today, thermographic damage and function analysis of electronic components is an established test method in electrical engineering. This method is also used for research purposes at the Institute for Electrical Systems and Energy Logistics at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. In this context, Prof. Dr. Ralph Schacht is intensively involved with the material and system characterisation as well as the non-destructive failure analysis of printed circuit boards, electronic components, microelectronics as well as composite systems of packaging and interconnection technology.

Thermography in Electronics Development - Picture credits: © iStock.com / Jimmyan

Ther­mo­graphy in Elec­tronics Devel­op­ment

At Delphi’s laboratory plant “Test & Validation Services”, thermography is used for design and product validation as part of quality assurance. Therewith, a stable hardware basis is set for integrating new technologies in motor vehicles that again present a substantial contribution to traffic safety.

InfraTec Thermography Success Story: CAU Kiel

Power Elec­tronics – Effi­cient Control of the Futures Energy

The energy efficiency of electronic components is becoming increasingly important in numerous fields of application. And that is not all: in our electronic and high-tech age, the demand is for even faster active components, higher power densities of miniaturised systems as well as absolute reliability. Along with this, there is the request for environmentally conscious resource procurement and the requirement that the increase in performance of modules should run parallel to lower energy consumption.

Failure Analysis on Electronic Components | ©BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg

Ther­mo­graphy on the Trail of the Fault

Today, thermographic damage and function analysis of electronic components is an established test method in electrical engineering. This method is also used for research purposes at the Institute for Electrical Systems and Energy Logistics at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. In this context, Prof. Dr. Ralph Schacht is intensively involved with the material and system characterisation as well as the non-destructive failure analysis of printed circuit boards, electronic components, microelectronics as well as composite systems of packaging and interconnection technology.

Thermography in Electronics Development - Picture credits: © iStock.com / Jimmyan

Ther­mo­graphy in Elec­tronics Devel­op­ment

At Delphi’s laboratory plant “Test & Validation Services”, thermography is used for design and product validation as part of quality assurance. Therewith, a stable hardware basis is set for integrating new technologies in motor vehicles that again present a substantial contribution to traffic safety.

Contact to thermography division of InfraTec

Would You Like to Know More?

It is not unusual for tasks to be associated with special requirements. Discuss your specific application needs with our specialists, receive further technical information or learn more about our additional services.

United Kingdom & Irland
InfraTec GmbH Infrarotsensorik und MesstechnikGostritzer Straße 61 - 6301217 DresdenGERMANY

Associated Thermographic Automation Solutions

Automation InfraTec INDU-SCAN - In-process industrial temperature measurement
Indus­trial Auto­ma­tion

Process Control – INDU-SCAN

Contactless measurement of temperature distributions and profiles with industrial thermographic cameras permits efficient monitoring and control of temperature-dependent processes and procedures within a system-integrated quality assurance programme in industry.

Quality control for more precision in press hardening PRESS-CHECK
Indus­trial Auto­ma­tion

Quality Control or Press Hardening – PRESS-CHECK

Check the microstructures of sheet metal parts during the stamping process and establish a uniform high strength and quality of all produced stampings safely and with a contact-free method.

Quality Assurance for Coating Processes | InfraTec / Picture Credits: © iStock.com / Greppe
Indus­trial Auto­ma­tion

Quality Assurance for the Coating of different Materials | InfraTec

Infrared cameras allow the non-destructive and process-synchronous monitoring of coating processes to ensure that the coatings are free of defects as soon as they are applied.

Automation InfraTec INDU-SCAN - In-process industrial temperature measurement
Indus­trial Auto­ma­tion

Process Control – INDU-SCAN

Contactless measurement of temperature distributions and profiles with industrial thermographic cameras permits efficient monitoring and control of temperature-dependent processes and procedures within a system-integrated quality assurance programme in industry.

Quality control for more precision in press hardening PRESS-CHECK
Indus­trial Auto­ma­tion

Quality Control or Press Hardening – PRESS-CHECK

Check the microstructures of sheet metal parts during the stamping process and establish a uniform high strength and quality of all produced stampings safely and with a contact-free method.

Quality Assurance for Coating Processes | InfraTec / Picture Credits: © iStock.com / Greppe
Indus­trial Auto­ma­tion

Quality Assurance for the Coating of different Materials | InfraTec

Infrared cameras allow the non-destructive and process-synchronous monitoring of coating processes to ensure that the coatings are free of defects as soon as they are applied.

WELD-CHECK by InfraTec
Non-destructive Testing

Welding Inspec­tion – WELD-CHECK

Using pulse thermography, WELD-CHECK enables you a quantitative assessment of the inspected welds.

Thermographic automation brake test bench - Picture Credits: © iStock.com / ktsimage
Non-destructive Testing

High-Speed Rotation Test Bench – TRC

Check for long-life fatigue strength of mechanical components in load tests, using high-end infrared cameras.

E-Lit Cabinet from InfraTec for Infrared Thermography
Non-destructive Testing

Electronic / Semiconductor Testing – E-LIT

Detect inhomogeneous temperature distribution and local power loss during the production using the Lock-in Thermography.

InfraTec thermography - electronics li-ionen-battery - Picture credits: © Fishman64 / Shutterstock.com
Obser­va­tion & Invest­ig­a­tion

Fire Preven­tion – FIRE-SCAN for Li-Ion Batteries

Monitor assembly halls and storage facilities fully automatically 24/7 and detect critical heat sources reliably.

Advantages of Thermography in the Field of Electromobility

InfraTec thermography - High-speed Mode

High-speed Mode – Increase Frame Rate and Sens­it­ivity

Due to the binning technology, infrared cameras have two speed modes – the standard mode and the high-speed mode, in which the frame rate increases more than three times. The field of view remains constant in both modes, so the scene captured by the camera does not change. In high-speed mode, the thermal resolution also increases by a factor of two.

MicroScan feature ImageIR

Micro­Scan – Quad­ruple the Image Format

Behind the function is a fast-rotating MicroScan wheel, which is integrated into the camera. It ensures that four different individual exposures are taken per wheel revolution, which are offset laterally by half a pixel each. In this way, thermography achieves a new quality due to thermal images providing a quadrupled spatial resolution.

InfraTec thermography - Thermal resolution

Thermal Resol­u­tion – Determ­in­a­tion of Differ­ences of Only a Few Millikelvin

For detection of small temperature changes InfraTec's infrared cameras offer thermal resolutions up to < 15 mK in real-time operation. By using the Lock-in Thermography method it is possible to further increase this resolution significantly. For this purpose test objects are periodically excited and non-destructively examined for defects and irregularities.

HighSense for thermographic camera series ImageIR®

High­Sense – Always the Optimal Camera Setting

Thanks to HighSense, ImageIR® users have the option of setting up individual measuring ranges based on the factory calibration that best suit the respective task. Depending on the measuring task, the required temperature range can be selected and the optimum integration time for this purpose is calculated – or one decides to proceed in reverse order. Thus, the calibration can be retained even in the case of changed integration times.

InfraTec Service Calibration Rig

Auto Calibration

The Auto Calibration option expands the HighSense function to include automatic, dynamic adaptation of the integration time. This ensures the utmost temperature measuring accuracy and an optimised signal-to-noise ratio throughout the process. The wellfill of a detector is usually optimal in certain areas of the dynamic range. If the measured object signal is outside theses or user-specified limits, the integration time is readjusted.

Thermography with ImageIR series - HDR feature - Picture credits: © iStock.com / Vershinin M

HDR – Simultaneous Mapping of Wide Temperature Ranges

The High Dynamic Range (HDR) function of the Infrared ImageIR® camera series enables measurement scenarios with extremely different temperatures to be recorded continuously. When recording in HDR mode, multiple thermograms with different integration times and different filters are recorded quickly in succession and compiled into an overall image with a high dynamic range. The measuring range can span up to 1,500 K. Users obtain high-contrast images in a wide temperature range characterized by high measurement accuracy.

Thermografie-Kameraserie ImageIR® mit neuer 10 GigE-Schnittstelle

10 GigE Inter­face for a Strong Increase in Output

The 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface of the high-end camera series ImageIR® opens this extremely fast transmission standard with a NIC specially developed by InfraTec. This works with optical or electrical transceiver modules that are easy to change and are called SFP+.

InfraTec glossary - ImageIR® mobile wireless camera remote control

Mobile Wire­less Camera Remote Control

Stationary camera systems are usually used PC-controlled. Alternatively, InfraTec offers a solution that makes the operation of the camera system even more versatile. An additional tablet PC is attached to the camera housing, which enables wireless control of all camera functions. The display solution allows access to all functions of the IRBIS® online control and acquisition software, delivered together with the camera.

InfraTec thermography - Feature EverSharp

Ever­Sharp Func­tion

With the innovative EverSharp function all objects of the image scene are displayed sharply, not depending on camera distance or lens. With the help of special algorithms thermal images with different focus positions are combined automatically, so that only the sharp object structures are displayed in the resulting thermal image. Thus, thermal images turn out very impressive as all objects are displayed in superb image quality.

Integ­rated Trigger / Process Inter­face and Inter­faces – Digit­ally Controlling of a Infrared Camera and External Devices

The internal trigger interface guarantees highly precise, repeatable triggering. Each of the two configurable digital inputs and outputs are used to control the camera or to generate digital control signals for external devices. In this way, for example, the operation of a printed circuit board and the interval of a measurement can be synchronised.

The selection of different camera interfaces allows the processing of analog data, such as the voltage directly through the camera and thus the insertion of this information into the thermal image data. Relevant variables can be included in the evaluations with the software, which makes it easier to draw conclusions about the causes of temperature changes.

ImageIR filter wheel replacement

Multispectral Feature

The multispectral feature makes it possible to record sequences with constantly changing spectral filters. Images are recorded synchronously with a rapidly rotating filter wheel equipped with the filters. It may be possible to switch between up to seven filters, depending on the version. Due to this the multispectral measurement can be optimised to suit the measuring task if the preset ranges are unsuitable. The integration times can be adapted within the limits calibrated for this filter.

InfraTec thermography - High-speed Mode

High-speed Mode – Increase Frame Rate and Sens­it­ivity

Due to the binning technology, infrared cameras have two speed modes – the standard mode and the high-speed mode, in which the frame rate increases more than three times. The field of view remains constant in both modes, so the scene captured by the camera does not change. In high-speed mode, the thermal resolution also increases by a factor of two.

MicroScan feature ImageIR

Micro­Scan – Quad­ruple the Image Format

Behind the function is a fast-rotating MicroScan wheel, which is integrated into the camera. It ensures that four different individual exposures are taken per wheel revolution, which are offset laterally by half a pixel each. In this way, thermography achieves a new quality due to thermal images providing a quadrupled spatial resolution.

InfraTec thermography - Thermal resolution

Thermal Resol­u­tion – Determ­in­a­tion of Differ­ences of Only a Few Millikelvin

For detection of small temperature changes InfraTec's infrared cameras offer thermal resolutions up to < 15 mK in real-time operation. By using the Lock-in Thermography method it is possible to further increase this resolution significantly. For this purpose test objects are periodically excited and non-destructively examined for defects and irregularities.

HighSense for thermographic camera series ImageIR®

High­Sense – Always the Optimal Camera Setting

Thanks to HighSense, ImageIR® users have the option of setting up individual measuring ranges based on the factory calibration that best suit the respective task. Depending on the measuring task, the required temperature range can be selected and the optimum integration time for this purpose is calculated – or one decides to proceed in reverse order. Thus, the calibration can be retained even in the case of changed integration times.

InfraTec Service Calibration Rig

Auto Calibration

The Auto Calibration option expands the HighSense function to include automatic, dynamic adaptation of the integration time. This ensures the utmost temperature measuring accuracy and an optimised signal-to-noise ratio throughout the process. The wellfill of a detector is usually optimal in certain areas of the dynamic range. If the measured object signal is outside theses or user-specified limits, the integration time is readjusted.

Thermography with ImageIR series - HDR feature - Picture credits: © iStock.com / Vershinin M

HDR – Simultaneous Mapping of Wide Temperature Ranges

The High Dynamic Range (HDR) function of the Infrared ImageIR® camera series enables measurement scenarios with extremely different temperatures to be recorded continuously. When recording in HDR mode, multiple thermograms with different integration times and different filters are recorded quickly in succession and compiled into an overall image with a high dynamic range. The measuring range can span up to 1,500 K. Users obtain high-contrast images in a wide temperature range characterized by high measurement accuracy.

Thermografie-Kameraserie ImageIR® mit neuer 10 GigE-Schnittstelle

10 GigE Inter­face for a Strong Increase in Output

The 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface of the high-end camera series ImageIR® opens this extremely fast transmission standard with a NIC specially developed by InfraTec. This works with optical or electrical transceiver modules that are easy to change and are called SFP+.

InfraTec glossary - ImageIR® mobile wireless camera remote control

Mobile Wire­less Camera Remote Control

Stationary camera systems are usually used PC-controlled. Alternatively, InfraTec offers a solution that makes the operation of the camera system even more versatile. An additional tablet PC is attached to the camera housing, which enables wireless control of all camera functions. The display solution allows access to all functions of the IRBIS® online control and acquisition software, delivered together with the camera.

InfraTec thermography - Feature EverSharp

Ever­Sharp Func­tion

With the innovative EverSharp function all objects of the image scene are displayed sharply, not depending on camera distance or lens. With the help of special algorithms thermal images with different focus positions are combined automatically, so that only the sharp object structures are displayed in the resulting thermal image. Thus, thermal images turn out very impressive as all objects are displayed in superb image quality.

Integ­rated Trigger / Process Inter­face and Inter­faces – Digit­ally Controlling of a Infrared Camera and External Devices

The internal trigger interface guarantees highly precise, repeatable triggering. Each of the two configurable digital inputs and outputs are used to control the camera or to generate digital control signals for external devices. In this way, for example, the operation of a printed circuit board and the interval of a measurement can be synchronised.

The selection of different camera interfaces allows the processing of analog data, such as the voltage directly through the camera and thus the insertion of this information into the thermal image data. Relevant variables can be included in the evaluations with the software, which makes it easier to draw conclusions about the causes of temperature changes.

ImageIR filter wheel replacement

Multispectral Feature

The multispectral feature makes it possible to record sequences with constantly changing spectral filters. Images are recorded synchronously with a rapidly rotating filter wheel equipped with the filters. It may be possible to switch between up to seven filters, depending on the version. Due to this the multispectral measurement can be optimised to suit the measuring task if the preset ranges are unsuitable. The integration times can be adapted within the limits calibrated for this filter.

Infrared Cameras for Electromobility

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 9500

Image Format(2,560 x 1,440) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT

InfraTec Infrared camera
Zoom Cameras

ImageIR® 6300 Z

Image Format(640 x 512) IR-Pixel
Detector typeXBn

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 9400 hp

Image Format(2,560 x 2,048) IR-Pixel
Detector typeInSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 9400 hs

Image Format(640 x 512) IR-Pixel
Detector typeInSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 9400

Image Format(2,560 x 2,048) IR-Pixel
Detector typeInSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 8800

Image Format(1,280 x 1,024) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 8300 hs

Image Format(640 x 512) IR-Pixel
Detector typeT2SLS or InSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 8300

Image Format(640 x 512) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT or InSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 8300 hp

Image Format(1,280 x 1,024) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT or InSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 10300

Image Format(1,920 x 1,536) IR-Pixel
Detector typeInSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
System Cameras

VarioCAM® HD head 900

Image Format(2,048 x 1,536) IR-Pixel
Detector typeUncooled Microbolometer Focal Plane Array

InfraTec Infrared camera
System Cameras

VarioCAM® HD head 800

Image Format(1,024 x 768) IR-Pixel
Detector typeUncooled Microbolometer Focal Plane Array

InfraTec Infrared camera
System Cameras

VarioCAM® HDx head 600

Image Format(640 x 480) IR-Pixel
Detector typeUncooled Microbolometer Focal Plane Array

InfraTec Infrared camera
System Cameras

VarioCAM® HDx head S

Image Format(640 x 480) IR-Pixel
Detector typeUncooled Microbolometer Focal Plane Array

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 7300

Image Format(640 x 512) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT or InSb

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 5300

Image Format(320 x 256) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT

InfraTec Infrared camera
High-end Cameras

ImageIR® 4300

Image Format(320 x 256) IR-Pixel
Detector typeMCT

InfraTec Infrared camera
Compact Cameras

PIR uc 605

Image Format(640 x 480) IR-Pixel
Detector typeUncooled Microbolometer Focal Plane Array

Asso­ci­ated Indus­tries & Applic­a­tions

thermal imaging in electronics

Elec­tronics & Elec­trical Engin­eering

Measure temperature distributions of smallest electronic components with infrared cameras.

thermal imaging for automotive applications

Auto­motive Industry

Infrared camera systems help you to secure a high product quality in production and at your suppliers.

All branches and application areas