Battery Protection Methods

Cell Protection
The purpose of cell protection is to provide the necessary monitoring and control to protect the cells from out of
tolerance ambient or operating conditions and to protect the user from the consequences of battery failures. Cell
protection can be external to the battery and this is one of the of the prime functions of the Battery Management
System.
Safety measures can also be built into the cells themselves and examples are outlined in the section on Battery
Safety.
High power cells can be particularly dangerous. They contain large amounts of energy which, if released in an
uncontrolled way through a short circuit or physical damage, can have catastrophic consequences. In the case of
short circuits, currents of hundreds of amps can build up in microseconds and protection circuits must be very fast
acting to prevent this.
Different applications and different cell chemistries require different degrees of protection. Lithium batteries in
particular need special protection and control circuits to keep them within their predefined voltage, current and
temperature operating limits. Furthermore, the consequences of failure of a Lithium cell could be quite serious,
possibly resulting in an explosion or fire. Cell protection is therefore indispensable in Lithium batteries. The following
discussion illustrates some of the principles involved.
In general cell protection should address the following undesirable events or conditions:

Excessive current during charging or discharging.

Short circuit

Over voltage - Overcharging

Under voltage - Exceeding preset depth of discharge (DOD) limits

High ambient temperature

Overheating - Exceeding the cell temperature limit

Pressure build up inside the cell

System isolation in case of an accident

Abuse

The two diagrams below illustrate how safety devices are specified to protect the cells from out of tolerance
conditions by constraining the cells to a safe working zone.
The red areas are specified by the cell manufacturers as "No go" areas where cells will most likely be subject to
permanent damage. Theoretically the cell could work in any of the remaining operating space, however this allows no
margin of error and in practice protection devices limit the cells operating conditions to a smaller "safe" operating
zone shown here in green. The white area between the safe zone and the failure zone represents the design safety
margin.

The diagrams also illustrate how the multiple levels of protection function to ensure safe operating conditions at all
times even if one of the devices fails.
.

Current Protection

Cell
Temperature

Cell Current
The above diagram shows three protection schemes providing two levels of protection from both over-current and
over temperature. If one fails the other one is there as a safety net.
Thermal Fuse
Excessive temperatures will cause all cells to fail eventually. Most protection circuits therefore incorporate a thermal
fuse which will permanently shut down the battery if its temperature exceeds a predetermined limit.
Thermistor (Not shown in the diagram)
Thermistors are circuit devices whose resistance varies with temperature. PTC thermistors have a Positive
Temperature Coefficient in that their resistance increases gradually with temperature and over a limited range the
resistance can be considered linearly proportional to temperature. Similarly NTC thermistors have a Negative
Temperature Coefficient and their resistance decreases as temperature increases. These components are used
extensively in monitoring and protection circuits to provide a voltage analogue of temperature or in control circuits
designed to provide temperature compensation. They may be used to terminate the charge (dt/dT) or to disconnect
the battery from the charger in an over-temperature condition when the temperature cut off point is reached, or they
could be used to turn on cooling fans.
In some applications the thermistor may be the only means of communication between the battery and the external
world.
Thermistors can also be used by the charger to determine starting environmental conditions and prevent charging if
the battery temperature is too low or too high.
Resettable Fuse
A resettable fuse indicated in the diagram above provides on-battery over-current protection. It has a similar function
to a thermal fuse but after opening it will reset once the fault conditions have been removed and after it has cooled
down again to its normal state. It requires no manual resetting or replacement and so is very convenient for the user
who may not even be aware of its operation.

The fuse is triggered when a particular temperature is reached. The temperature rise can be caused by the resistive
self heating of the thermistor due to the current passing through it, or by conduction or convection from the ambient
environment. Thus it can be used to protect against both over- current and over-temperature.
Also called a PPTC (Polymeric Positive Temperature Coefficient) device, the resettable fuse is a non-linear PTC
thermistor based on a thin composite of semi crystalline polymer and conductive particles. Under normal operating
conditions, the conductive particles provide a low resistance path allowing current to flow. Under fault conditions that
cause excessive temperature, such as excessive current flow or an excessively high ambient temperature, the
crystallites in the polymer undergo an abrupt phase change within a very narrow temperature range melting and
becoming amorphous causing separation of the particles resulting in a large, non-linear increase in resistance.
The sharp increase in resistance is typically three orders of magnitude or more, reducing the current to a relatively
low and safe level. It will hold in this high resistance state until the fault conditions are removed. On cooling the phase
change is reversed and the PPTC resets to low resistance state (within certain post trip limits).
Devices have a de-rating at elevated temperatures which means that they will trip at a lower current if the
temperature is higher. Environmental and electrical details of application must be full understood when designing in
resettable fuse protection.
These devices are easily integrated into battery design by welding across cell terminals or placing on circuit board.
The "Polyswitch" is an example of such a device. (Polyswitch is a trademark of Raychem corp.)
Fuses
Conventional fuses may be used to protect the battery from an overload, but in many situations they may not act
quickly enough. This is particularly true if the battery is short circuited. Since the battery has a very low internal
impedance, very high instantaneous currents can flow which can seriously damage the battery. Fuses however are
very slow to operate in fault conditions and may not act quickly enough if the battery is short circuited.
Fast acting over current and overvoltage protection which can isolate the battery are usually provided by electronic
means.
Electronic Protection
Over-current protection is normally provided by a current sensing device which detects when the upper current limit of
the battery has been reached and interrupts the circuit. Since current is difficult to measure the usual method of
current sensing is by measuring the voltage across a low ohmic value, high precision, series, sense resistor in the
current path. When the specified current limit has been reached the sensing circuit will trigger a switch which will
break the current path. The switch may be a semiconductor device or even a relay. Relays are inexpensive, they can
switch very high currents and provide very good isolation in case of a fault but they are very slow to operate. FET
switches are normally used to provide fast acting protection but they are limited in their current carrying capability and
very costly for high power applications.
Once the fault conditions have been removed, the circuit would normally be reconnected automatically, however
there are particular circumstances when the circuit would be latched open. This could be to protect an unsuspecting
service engineer investigating why a high voltage battery had tripped out.

Voltage Protection

Cell
Temperature

Cell Voltage
The above diagram shows a scheme for over and under-voltage, as well as temperature protection. In this case it
also shows interaction with the charger. Batteries can be damaged both by over-voltage which can occur during
charging and by under-voltage due to excessive discharging. This scheme allows voltage limits to be set for both
charging and discharging. Batteries can be particularly vulnerable to overcharging. (See the section on Charging ). By
providing the charger with inputs from voltage and temperature sensors in the battery, the charger can be cut off
when the battery reaches predetermined control limits. The diagram above only shows a single voltage cut off from
the charger, however multiple protection circuits can be implemented to provide a comprehensive protection scheme
involving the charger as well as the protection built into the battery.
It should be noted that each protection device added into the main current path will increase the effective internal
impedance of the battery, as much as doubling it in the case of single cell batteries. This adversely affects the
battery's capability of delivering peak power.
Intelligent Batteries
When the charging system involves communications between the battery and the charger it is called an Intelligent
Charging System. An example of an Intelligent Battery is provided in the section on Battery Management Systems.
An industry standard for specifying the communications link has been defined. This is the SMBus and this is
supported by chip sets which have been developed to facilitate this protocol. Although the SMBus is convenient,
many manufacturers still prefer to use proprietary solutions.
Monitoring
As well as sending signals to the charger the intelligent battery can turn on warning lights or send signals about the
battery condition to the user. Monitoring is an essential component of Battery Management Systems.
Venting
With many cell chemistries the electrochemical process can give rise to the generation of gases, particularly during
conditions of over charge. This is called gassing. If the gases are allowed to escape the active mass of chemicals in
the cell will be diminished, permanently reducing its capacity and its cycle life. Furthermore the release of chemicals
into the atmosphere could be dangerous. Manufacturers have therefore developed sealed cells to prevent this
happening. Sealing the cells however gives rise to a different problem. If gassing does occur, pressure within the cell

will build up, this will usually be accompanied by a rise in temperature which will make matters worse, until the cell
ruptures or explodes. To overcome this second problem sealed cells will normally incorporate some form of vent to
release the pressure in a controlled way if it becomes excessive. This is the last line of defence for an abused cell if
all the other protection measures fail. Cells are not meant to vent under normal operating conditions.
Circuit Interrupt Device (CID)
For smaller cells an alternative method of dealing with excess pressure is available. This is a small mechanical switch
which interrupts the current path through the cell if the internal pressure exceeds a predetermined level. This method
is not siutable for high power cells because of the difficulty of incorporating switches which can break the high
currents typically causing over-pressure in the cell.
Unfortunately there is no easy way of monitoring the internal pressure of standard cells to facilitate the
implementation of simple pressure control mechanisms particularly for high current applications and the product
designer is dependent on the efficacy of the safety vent and the use of systems based on temperature monitoring to
provide protection from excessive pressure build up within the cells.
See also Pressure Effects.
There is the possibility of explosion if a sealed cell is encased in such a way that it cannot vent. The vents are often
tiny and usually go unnoticed. Standard battery holders won't block the vents, but encapsulating the battery in epoxy
resin to make a solid power module certainly will.
Multi-cell applications
In multi-cell applications each cell should have its own over-voltage detection device. Several temperature sensors
will also be required since the pack may not have a uniform temperature across all the cells. Series connected cell
chains would normally require only a single current monitoring and protection device unless provision is made for
charging or bypassing individual cells. In such cases each cell will also require its own current monitor. Such
complication is unfortunately necessary in high voltage packs containing long series cell strings. This is because
individual cells may become overstressed and cause the premature failure of the whole battery. Why this arises, and
how to avoid it, is discussed in the section on Cell Balancing.
System Isolation
While the battery can detect and initiate protective actions for events within the battery system, there are some
applications which require the battery to respond to external events. This could be an out of tolerance condition such
as a high temperature in some other part of the application which requires the power to be shut off. In the case of an
automobile accident for instance, an inertia switch should isolate the battery. In these situations the battery needs to
incorporate a switch in the main current path which can be triggered by an external signal. This does not necessarily
need to be a separate switch since it could be possible to design the battery's over current protection circuit to accept
a trigger from an external source.
Capacitive and Inductive Loads
Capacitive and inductive loads may be subject to large current surges as the load charges up. These surges can be
sufficient to trip the current protection circuits but may not be of long enough duration to damage the battery. If the

application does not allow the current surge to be designed out, then the protection circuit should incorporate a timer
or some other device to delay or disable the current cut-off during expected short duration current pulses.
Current Drain
The object of protection is to maximise the life of the battery. Electronic protection circuits themselves draw current
from the battery, reducing the effective capacity of the battery to supply the desired load. Low quiescent current is
therefore an essential requirement for protection circuits.
Procedures and Discipline
No amount of electronics will protect a cell from bad management practices.

We know that elevated temperatures are bad for batteries. We should therefore ensure that cells are stored
in a cool environment.

We know that shorting the terminals can be dangerous. We should ensure that handling and packing
methods prevent this from happening.

We know batteries have a finite life. We should make sure the stores works on a FIFO basis.

Cell manufacturers set operating limits and conditions for their cells. We should ensure that these
recommendations are respected during all stages of the procurement, manufacturing and shipping processes.

Protection During Manufacturing

Safe handling procedures for batteries in general are given in the section on User Safety Instructions.
In addition, any electronic circuitry included within the battery pack may be susceptible to damage from electrostatic
discharges (ESD) caused by mishandling during the production process. Static electricity may build up on the human
body due to contact or friction with insulators and other synthetic materials such as plastics and styrofoam cups,
plastic bags and clothing. Its effect is particularly strong in a dry atmosphere. If the charged person then touches an
object at a lower potential or ground/earth potential such as circuit boards or components, the charge will be
dissipated through that path. This charge is sufficient to damage transistors and integrated circuits. Even if the static
sensitive devices are not handled directly they can be damaged by touching the pins or connectors on the printed
circuit board.
Standard precautions to avoid electrostatic damage include, the prohibition of casual handling of items on the
production line (by visitors or managers), the wearing of grounding straps by anyone touching components or printed
circuit boards, conductive flooring, conductive packaging, the labeling of static sensitive components and the
avoidance of static prone materials near the production line.