New Methods of Triggering Thermal Run Away,
Thermal Run Away,

▍What is CTIA CERTIFICATION?

CTIA, the abbreviation of Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, is a non-profit civic organization established in 1984 for the purpose of guaranteeing benefit of operators, manufacturers and users. CTIA consists of all U.S. operators and manufacturers from mobile radio services, as well as from wireless data services and products. Supported by FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and Congress, CTIA performs a large part of duties and functions that were used to be conducted by the government. In 1991, CTIA created an unbiased, independent and centralized product evaluation and certification system for wireless industry. Under the system, all wireless products in consumer grade shall take compliance tests and those complying with the relevant standards will be granted to utilize CTIA marking and hit store shelves of North American communication market.

CATL (CTIA Authorized Testing Laboratory) represents labs accredited by CTIA for testing and review. Testing reports issued from CATL would be all approved by CTIA. While other testing reports and results from non-CATL will not be recognized or have no access to CTIA. CATL accredited by CTIA varies in industries and certifications. Only CATL which is qualified for battery compliance test and inspection has access to battery certification for compliance to  IEEE1725.

▍CTIA Battery Testing Standards

a) Certification Requirement for Battery system Compliance to IEEE1725— Applicable to Battery Systems with single cell or multiple cells connected in parallel;

b) Certification Requirement for Battery system Compliance to IEEE1625— Applicable to Battery Systems with multiple cells connected in parallel or in both parallel and series;

Warm tips: Select above certification standards properly for batteries used in mobile phones and computers. Do not misuse IEE1725 for batteries in mobile phones or IEEE1625 for batteries in computers.

▍Why MCM？

● Hard Technology: Since 2014, MCM has been attending battery pack conference held by CTIA in US annually, and is able to obtain latest update and understand new policy trends about CTIA in a more prompt, accurate and active way. 

●Qualification: MCM is CATL accredited by CTIA and is qualified to perform all processes related to certification including testing, factory audit and report uploading.

With more accident caused by lithium-ion battery happens, People are more concerned about battery thermal run away, as the thermal run away occurring in one cell may spread heat to other cells, leading to shut-down of the whole battery system.
Traditionally we will trigger thermal run away by heating, pinning or overcharging during tests. However, these methods can neither control thermal runaway in a specified cell, nor can they easily be implemented during tests of battery systems. Recently people are developing new method to trigger thermal runaway. The Propagation test in new IEC 62619: 2022 is an example, and it is estimated that this method will be a wide use in the future. This article is to introduce some new methods that are under research.
Laser radiation is to heat a small area with high energy laser pulse. The heat will be conducted inside the material. Laser radiation is widely used in the areas of material processing, like welding, connecting and cutting. Commonly there are kinds of laser as follows: