A Horizontal Battery Pack Crush and Nail Penetration Tester is a critical piece of safety validation equipment used to simulate catastrophic mechanical failures in electric vehicle (EV) battery packs and large-scale energy storage systems (ESS). By applying controlled mechanical deformation or puncturing the cells, engineers can evaluate the structural integrity of the housing and the resulting thermal runaway behavior.

Crush Testing (Horizontal)Unlike single-cell testers, pack-level horizontal crush testers use massive hydraulic actuators to apply force to the side or end of a full battery enclosure. (1) Force Capacity: Typically ranges from 200 kN to over 1,000 kN (100 tons+). (2) Parameters: Testing is governed by speed (e.g., 5 mm/s) or specific force targets defined by international standards. (3) Deformation Modes: Uses various "indenters" (hemispherical, cylindrical, or flat plates) to simulate side-impact collisions or ground-contact debris.

Nail Penetration Testing: This simulates an internal short circuit caused by a foreign object penetrating the battery casing and the cell separators. (1) Nail Specifications: Uses high-temperature resistant steel needles, typically 3 mm to 8 mm in diameter. (2) Variable Speed: Linear actuators drive the nail at precise speeds (from 0.1 mm/s to 80 mm/s) to trigger different thermal response profiles. (3) Observation: The test focuses on whether the penetration of one cell leads to "propagation" (the "domino effect") across the entire pack.

References:

B. Kotak, et al., Battery Crush Test Procedures in Standards and Regulation: Need for Augmentation and Harmonisation, Batteries 2021, 7(3), 63

B. Mao, et al., Failure mechanism of the lithium ion battery during nail penetration, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2018, 122, 1103-1115

T. Ma, et al., Mechanics-morphologic coupling studies of commercialized lithium-ion batteries under nail penetration test, Journal of Power Sources, 2019, 437, 226928.