jet puts spotlight on battery risks

The battery that caught fire on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner twice in recent weeks is likely to be in your pocket at this time.
Lithium-ion batteries are small in size and powerful, and have become the first choice of energy storage devices.
They are everywhere. -
Mobile phones, laptops, power tools, and even cars.
They allow us to talk, email and train longer than ever before.
But the events that led to the global 787 fleet shutdown, and Boeing\'s decision to temporarily stop all aircraft deliveries on Friday, highlight a disturbing disadvantage of these energies --
Dense generators: they occasionally catch fire.
Investigators are now working to determine the cause of the incident, one on a Dreamliner on the Boston runway and the other on Western Japan forcing an emergency landing of 787 aircraft, the bigger problem of lithium ion security has become the focus of attention.
Mike Eskra of Milwaukee said: \"Every battery can burn, every battery can be flammable
A us-based battery development scientist is also a battery fire investigator for insurance companies.
But lithium-ion batteries are more dangerous because they store more energy.
It\'s like firecrackers, not explosives.
A long list of casualties.
In recent years, tens of thousands of laptop batteries have been recalled due to the danger of fire or explosion. The 400-
Pound lithium ion battery on normal cars
Chevrolet Volt\'s edge electric vehicle appeared to have caught fire when it stopped in 2011.
Investigators attribute the cause of the UPS Fire to the cargo compartment full of lithium ion batteries
Shortly after taking off from Dubai on 2010, 747 crashed.
The accident, which killed two pilots, has been one of more than 100 accidents recorded by the Federal Aviation Administration over the past 20 years that linked lithium-ion batteries to on-board fires.
This month, the new regulations came into effect, limiting the transportation of lithium-ion batteries on aircraft.
The FAA has long banned the use of the technology on commercial aircraft.
This changed in 2007, when it allowed Boeing to use the battery in 787 under some conditions to ensure safety.
For Boeing, the advantages of lithium ion are obvious.
Due to their chemical properties, rechargeable batteries can store as much energy as the 50%-heavy nickel metal hydrogen battery pack, while charging and discharging faster than other battery types.
This makes them attractive to military applications such as B-
2 Bombers can also be used on the International Space Station and Mars probe.
Lithium-ion batteries enable Boeing to replace heavy-duty hydraulic systems in its fuselage with systems such as light-duty electronics and electric madarlai operating wing designsicers.
This is one of the key reasons why Dreamliners burn 20% less fuel than other wide-body aircraft. body aircraft.
Weight and energy saving are the reasons why lithium ion batteries are popular in other applications.
More than 95% of the world\'s mobile phone batteries are lithium-ion batteries, and without lithium-ion, laptops cannot operate nearby as long as they are not charged.
Vishal Sapru, energy and power systems research manager at Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm in Mountain View, California, said: \"They have completely dominated the consumer market . \".
He estimates that global sales of lithium-ion batteries have reached $14.
Last year it was $7 billion, up from $9.
2009 for 6 billion growth the 53%.
Sapru expects the market to soar to $50.
7 billion to 2018.
\"No other battery chemicals are growing at this rate.
But there are also disadvantages to lithium ion.
Battery life is often shorter than older, more mature battery technology.
Although prices are falling, lithium-ion batteries are still more expensive than others.
Although some automakers have accepted the technology, other automakers such as Toyota have decided not to accept it.
With weak demand, several manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles filed for bankruptcy last year.
Security experts also have concerns.
Because lithium-ion batteries can store more energy and discharge faster than other batteries, lithium-ion batteries may be hotter than other technologies if they are overcharged or external applications of heat sources.
Larger applications such as 63-
On a 787-pound battery with multiple batteries, the Heat can quickly spread from the battery to the battery, a chain reaction called \"heat out of control.
When other types of batteries use water,
Lithium ion is based on electrolyte in each battery and depends on a highly flammable solvent.
When heated, the solvent evaporates, spraying the combustible gas into the surrounding air.
Therefore, the burning temperature of lithium-ion batteries is extremely high, up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
On last April, an explosion at the GM battery testing laboratory caused $5 million in damage and one person was taken to hospital.
GM said that the flammable gas produced by the lithium-ion battery used in the experiment has been discharged during extreme testing.
\"Lithium ion is very controversial in the field of safety engineering,\" said Brian Barnett, vice president of battery technology for Tiax, Lexington Technology, Massachusetts.
Last month, he spoke at a battery safety conference in Las Vegas where more than three people
Part of the speech is focused on lithium-ion batteries.
The cause of the two Dreamliner fires has not yet been determined, and neither Boeing nor the battery-making Japanese company GS Yuasa has publicly commented on possible factors.
Boeing tested the batteries on the plane for thousands of hours and installed many battery-specific safety systems.
Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerny said Friday: \"We are very confident in the safety of 787 and firmly support its integrity as the newest member of our product range.
Barnett and others stress that it is not uncommon to see problems in relatively new technologies.
But they added that most lithium-ion fires are caused by external problems, such as poor circuits or software failures that cause overcharging.
Another common problem with consumer electronics is the use of low
Cost cabling and other components that may overheat and cause or catch fire next to the battery itself.
Battery fire investigator Eskra said he saw a fire caused by the Chinese --
Made toys using lithium-ion batteries that are connected to chargers designed for nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydrogen batteries.
Manufacturing errors, including allowing tiny metal particles to pollute batteries, can cause dangerous short circuits, although they are very rare.
\"Someone is trying to cut corners somewhere,\" he said . \" He pointed out that most lithium-ion fires were caused by a small part that failed somewhere in the line,
\"It\'s a $2 fix, but it takes half a million dollars to figure out what it is.
\"Sometimes the problem is more lasting.
On 2006, Sony announced that after more than a dozen fires, more than 10 million lithium-ion laptop batteries for various laptops were recalled worldwide, and a second recall was released two years later.
Nevertheless, given the massive proliferation of lithium-ion batteries and the relative lack of serious problems, the numbers seem to be safe.
\"All batteries are energy storage devices and there is a risk if they are manufactured or managed incorrectly,\" said George Kashmir, executive director of the rechargeable battery Assn trading group.
\"But lithium ion is a ubiquitous technology that doesn\'t exist if it\'s not safe. \"--ken.
Ben Singh @ latimes.