2022 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Control Science (IC2ECS)
A Compliance Study on Thermal Runaway of a
Nickel Cadmium Battery for Civil Aircraft
2022 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Control Science (IC2ECS) | 979-8-3503-9916-5/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/IC2ECS57645.2022.10088119
Juan Wei
Electrical Integration Department
Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute
Shanghai, China
weijuan@comac.cc
Abstract—In accordance with the requirements of CCAR
25.1353 (c) (5) on the impact of short circuit of civil aircraft
battery on surrounding structures and equipment, this paper
proposes a test verification method for the impact of thermal
runaway of airborne nickel cadmium battery, and studies the
changes in temperature of surrounding structures and the state
of the battery itself when the battery has the most serious short
circuit in the test box, so as to evaluate the impact of the heat
generated by its short circuit on surrounding structures and
equipment.
Keywords-Nickel Cadmium Battery; Thermal runaway; Short
Circuit; Compliance Method
I. INTRODUCTION
In modern civil aircraft, batteries have been widely used.
With the development of multi electric and even all electric
technology, the capacity and energy density of installed
batteries will become higher and higher, and the potential
destructive impact of thermal runaway caused by the short
circuit when the batteries are discharged will also receive more
and more attention. In January 2013, two consecutive lithium-
ion battery short circuit combustion accidents occurred in JAL
and ANA Boeing 787 passenger aircraft, which also belonged
to the situation that the heat accumulation inside the battery
was out of control. The chain effect caused the whole battery to
catch fire and lead to the damage and destruction of the body.
The airworthiness regulations 25.1353 (c)(5) of CCAR-25-
R3[1] requires: "Every nickel cadmium battery device that can
be used to start the engine or auxiliary power device must have
measures to prevent the maximum heat generated by the
battery or a single battery in case of short circuit from
endangering the structure or important system".
In the European Standard Aerospace Series BS EN2570
Nickel Cadmium Batteries – Technical Sspecification[2] and
RTCA DO-293, only the battery product itself is studied, and
only the temperature of the battery body is measured during the
short circuit test in these standards or papers[3], and they
focused on the study on the impact on the Nickel Cadmium or
Lithium-ion battery itself[4], without considering the impact on
the surrounding environment in combination with the actual on
board installation and layout condition of the battery. However,
with the more and more extensive application of batteries on
civil aircraft and the repeated occurrence of battery failures,
domestic and foreign airworthiness authorities and aircraft
manufacturers have gradually paid more attention to this issue.
CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) requires that
979-8-3503-9916-5/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE
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Jianxin Yuan
Environment Controll Department
Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute
Shanghai, China
yuanjianxin@comac.cc
aircraft manufacturers should carry out more complete
verification work to fully demonstrate compliance evidence
with airworthiness regulations and safety requirements.
II. COMPLIANCE METHOD & VERIFICATION TEST
The compliance verification test method is to build a test
platform in combination with the installation environment of a
nickel cadmium battery for a civil aircraft, study and carry out
a full and rigorous battery short-circuit thermal runaway
test(Another way to induce the thermal runaway of the battery
is to continuously charge the battery with high current under
high temperature environment[3][5]), verify that the heat
generated by the nickel cadmium battery under this short-
circuit condition will not affect the surrounding structures and
equipment through the analysis of the test results, and
investigate the temperature field of the battery installation
environment and the change of the battery's own state during
the short-circuit process, It indicates that the design and
installation of storage battery comply with relevant
airworthiness clause 25.1353 (c)(5).
The approach of verification test is:
 Test environment design based on battery onboard
layout: Design a typical box environment for battery short
circuit verification test that can measure the temperature field
around the battery (including structure and equipment surface).
 Airframe determines the fault state to be simulated
according to the requirements of CCAR 25.1353 (c)(5).
 It is more strict than the battery standard EN2570. It
determines the electrical parameters and configuration of the
test circuit, controls the resistance of the external short circuit,
and has a small ratio to the internal resistance of the battery.
 Therml/Heat dissipation analysis for battery short
circuit: in order to more comprehensively and scientifically
analyze and master the impact of thermal runaway, according
to the distribution of structural components around the battery
and the distribution of other system equipment, reasonably
arrange temperature sensors and determine the requirements for
testing equipment to obtain sufficient and correct temperature
testing data.
 According to the requirements of short circuit test in
battery standard, combined with the actual state of a aircraft
battery and its general maintenance procedures, determine the
specific test procedures.
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  Based on the data analysis of the test results, verify the
compliance with the requirements of the clauses: according to
the temperature rise of the test temperature and ambient
temperature, combined with the ambient temperature on board,
judge whether the impact of the battery short-circuit
overheating on important equipment and structures is
acceptable.
A. Battery Short Circuit Test Design
According to the requirements of CCAR25.1353(c)(5), and
the experience of aircraft battery suppliers, the serial connect
structure of the battery's internal cells and the battery failure
mode impact analysis, the most severe overheating fault
condition of the battery - external short circuit fault was
selected, and the short circuit continued until the battery ran out
of power. To simulate the faults:
1) To design the short circuit, the circuit resistance shall
be limited to be less than 2 m Ω according to the short circuit
test in BS EN2570.
2) To fully simulate the external short circuit of the battery,
the ratio of the circuit resistance to the internal group of the
battery shall be as small as possible. The test requires that the
ratio of the internal resistance of the battery to the external
short circuit resistance shall not be less than 50.
3) For the failure time, according to the battery
manufacturer's industry regulations, the short circuit test is only
conducted for 60 seconds. Because this test needs to simulate
the thermal runaway of battery short circuit, and analyze the
most serious case of short circuit, it is designed to continue
short circuit until the battery runs out of power.
B. Conductor design of external short circuit of storage
battery
To simulate external short circuit fault of battery, a tiny
resistance shall be connected in parallel at the output side of
battery to make the battery circuit sustain a immense current
instantly. The construction of short circuit loop shall consider
the external loop resistance. In order to ensure that the external
loop resistance in the test is small enough, after several rounds
of test and comparison, a 6mm thickness x 60mm width
specific red copper bar is designed and customized as the main
structure of the short circuit loop, and the conductor of this
copper bar can carry the transient short circuit current up to
3000A. The copper bar is directly connected with the DC
output terminal connector of the battery and extended to the
outside of the Test Rig to facilitate the switch operation of the
external short circuit loop to be connected or breaked-off.
C. Switch design of external short circuit loop of battery
It is focused on the design and selection of switch for
connecting or breaking short circuit, and comprehensively
consider the factors such as short-time overcurrent capacity,
rated current, device resistance and procurement cycle of large
current contactor[4]. Because the short circuit current at the
moment of short circuit of the battery is very high, the normal
switches such as high current contactors has a long closing time,
is easy to ignite, and after a period of continuous short circuit,
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the protection mechanism will trip and disconnect the loop due
to short circuit heating, which cannot continue a adequate and
complete short circuit test. However, because of the factors
such as large contact area, fast action time, strong over-current
capacity, and low resistance of the device itself, the red copper
knife switch is designed and used to control the external short
circuit loop.
The knife switch is designed based on the above battery
simulated fault conditions, and the external short circuit circuit
including the special battery plug, copper bar and knife switch
is realized. It is shown in Figure 1.
The external short circuit circuit resistance of the battery is
0.180 mΩ, which is far lower than 2 mΩ specified in BS
EN2570. The internal resistance of the battery is 13.43 mΩ,
and the ratio of the internal resistance of the battery to the
external short-circuit circuit resistance is 74.7, which meets the
test requirements of not less than 50.
Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of Short Circuit Test Device
D. Design of Battery Short-Circuit Test Rig(Test Box)
To simulate the failure of the airborne nickel cadmium
main/APU battery, it is necessary to build a test platform
equivalent to the airborne environment, mainly including an
external space that simulates the on-board installation of the
battery, namely the box, and the layout of the surrounding
structural supports and important equipment of the battery, as
well as the internal layout of the box.
The design method of the test box proposed in this paper
has the following considerations: First, ensure that the heat
transfer characteristics of the battery and other equipment in the
box are consistent with the real aircraft; The second is the
similar size of the battery on-board installation cabin. And heat
transfer includes heat conduction, radiation and convection,
which can be considered from three aspects:
1) Thermal Conductivity: use the same or similar thermal
conductivity (thermal conductivity) as the airborne materials.
2) Thermal Radiation: the relative position of the
equipment and the surface emissivity (emissivity) are
consistent. That is, the internal layout and material surface
 painting requirements are the same or similar to those on the
aircraft.
3) Thermal convection: shape and position of equipment.
(The smallest influencing factor).
According to the above analysis and consideration, it is
necessary to design the box from two aspects: the box,
simulation equipment shell and simulation equipment frame
structure are made of materials similar to the airborne structure
in thermal characteristics. Box size design and space layout
design of simulation equipment around the internal battery.
E. Temperature measurement design
In order to accurately analyze and verify the test results,
high-precision platinum resistance with accurate measurement,
high temperature stability and reliable performance is used as
the temperature sensor, with accuracy of ± 0.5 ℃ and upper
temperature limit of 200 ℃. At the same time, the infrared
thermal imager is also equipped for auxiliary observation of
temperature distribution in the box, and the infrared radiation
thermometer is used for auxiliary measurement of copper bar
temperature rise.
When the battery is short circuited, the direct thermal effect
(heat conduction) of its short circuit current will quickly act on
such structural parts as the short circuit conductor, battery
positive and negative ends, diaphragms, connect bars,
housing/shells, etc. The indirect thermal effect will produce
thermal radiation and thermal convection on the settings around
the battery installation location.
The purpose of the battery short circuit test is to verify and
assess the impact of direct and indirect thermal effects on the
battery itself and surrounding facilities, and whether the
resulting consequences comply with airworthiness safety
specifications. In order to scientifically, completely and
reasonably detect the temperature impact of the heat generated
by the short circuit of the battery on itself, adjacent analog
devices, mounting brackets and boxes, the temperature sensors
are disposed of from the battery body, analog devices around
the battery, structural supports, wall panels and suspension.
The Battery Short Circuit Test Rig is shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Battery Short Circuit Test Rig
F. Test Process
The test procedures include: battery discharge before test,
battery capacity check, battery charging before short circuit,
battery state and short circuit circuit resistance detection before
test, battery short circuit closing (test start), data monitoring
records, short circuit circuit disconnection (test end), battery
state check after test, short circuit circuit resistance detection,
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etc. The battery short circuit test is carried out as follows
according to the above procedures.
1) Battery discharge. According to the requirements of BS
EN2570, fully discharge the battery, that is, discharge at a
constant current of 27A until the battery voltage drops to 20V.
2) Battery capacity check. Charging to determine the state
of the battery, and discharge to determine the state of the
battery. If the output voltage is not less than 20V, the battery
passes the capacity check before short circuit. Then, discharge
at a 27Aconstant current until the battery voltage drops to 20V.
3) Charge the battery before it is short circuited, with
13.5A constant current until the output voltage of the battery
reaches 31V. Use 2.7A constant current charge for 4 hours.
4) Test status check. Measure and record the internal
resistance of the battery, connect the external short circuit
circuit according to the test layout, measure and record the
external circuit resistance. Confirm that the ratio of internal
resistance to external resistance of the battery meets the
requirements.
5) Test starts. After confirming that the system is normal,
and start the short circuit test.
6) Data monitoring records. The data recorder records the
short-circuit current and the battery voltage and copper bar
dynamic DC voltage during the whole test process, and collects
temperature data and curves of each monitoring point during
the test. At the beginning of the test, the data shall be recorded
every 30s. After 2 minutes, the recording interval shall be
extended to 2 minutes.
7) Test is over. The test is carried out until 1.3 hours
(typical first flight time) to disconnect the switch.
8) Condition inspection and data measurement after the test.
Within 30 minutes after the test, the operator shall check the
external short circuit resistance, the internal resistance and
voltage data of the battery pack, as well as the internal
resistance and voltage data of each individual, and visually
check whether the structural components and system
equipment in the box are intact.
III. BATTERY SHORT CIRCUIT TEST STATUS
During the test, the short-circuit current gradually reduces
from the peak value to 69 min according to the decay rate
inversely proportional to the time, and then the current
converges to 0A. The test lasted for 82 min. The physical state
of the battery is stable. Heat generated by short circuit and
large current directly acts on the electrolyte. After the
electrolyte is heated, the distilled water in the electrolyte boils.
The boiling blue steam smoothly leaks out through the battery
vent pipe, and water appear on the ground. No steam escapes
from the upper cover seal of the battery.
After the test, battery was found that there was a small
amount of water vapor condensation on the surface of the
connect bar of the battery cell, the structure of each cell
remained intact, the fastening state of each air plug was normal,
and there was no leakage or loss of chemicals from the
electrolyte. See Figure 2 for the inside of battery after the test.
 IV. BATTERY SHORT CIRCUIT TEST RESULT
The short-circuit voltage curve of the test battery is shown
in Figure 3, where the X-axis unit is 10ms and the Y-axis unit
is volt. The short circuit current curve of the battery is shown in
Figure 4, where the X-axis unit is 10ms and the Y-axis unit is
ampere.
Figure 3. Short circuit voltage curve of storage battery
Figure 4. Short circuit current curve of storage battery
The test data show that the maximum instantaneous short
circuit current of the battery is 2662.5A, which is 98.6 times of
the rated capacity current, corresponding output voltage was
0.81V. The maximum temperature on the external surface of
the battery itself is 77.75 ℃ . The maximum temperature of the
battery top cover is 77.65 ℃, and the maximum temperature of
the battery bottom is 70 ℃. The maximum temperature at vent
pipe of the battery is 83.45 ℃ (Fig.5). The external indirect
maximum radiation temperature distribution is 45.6 ℃ at the
test rig surface nearby the battery (Fig.6), 42.8 ℃ at the top of
the test rig. The maximum temperature of copper busbar next
to the battery interface is 42.3 ℃. The indirect radiation
temperature measured at other parts (surrounding mock
equipment and installation rack) was lower than 40 ℃. In
below figures, the X-axis is temperature (each unit is 5 Celsius
degree) and the Y-axis is test time (each unit is 200s).
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Figure 5. Temperature at Battery Vent Pipe
Figure 6 Temperature of Copper Bus Near Battery Interface
Based on the test results, it is concluded that the test results
meet the test criteria, so as to verify the compliance with the
requirements of the regulations: according to the temperature
rise of battery and mock devices, combined with ambient
temperature, it is judged that the impact of the battery short-
circuit and overheating on important equipment and structures
is acceptable. Tthe heat generated will not affect the operation
of the surrounding important structures and equipment, so the
battery design can meet the airworthiness requirements.
V. Conclusions
In accordance with the requirements of CCAR 25.1353 (c)
(5) on the impact of battery short circuit on surrounding
structures and equipment, this paper proposes a test verification
method for the impact of airborne nickel cadmium battery
thermal runaway, studies the changes in the temperature of
surrounding structures and the state of the battery itself when
the battery has the most serious short circuit in the test box, so
as to evaluate the impact of the heat generated by its short
circuit on surrounding structures and equipment. The results
show that this method can be used to evaluate the influence of
battery short circuit heat on surrounding results and equipment.
REFERENCES
[1] Civil Aviation Regulation of China. “Part 25 Airworthiness Standard:
Transport Catergory Airplanes”, CCAR -25-R3, p188-189, May 14.2001
[2] BSI of European Committee for Standerdization. “Nickel-cadmium
Batteries-Technical Specification”, British Standard Aerospace Series.
BS EN2570:1996, p21-22, London, England, July.2004.
[3] BSI of European Committee for Standerdization. “Nickel-cadmium
Batteries-Technical Specification”, British Standard Aerospace Series.
BS EN2570:1996, p21-22, London, England, July.2004.
[4] R.X. Yang, R. Xiong, F.C. Sun, “Experimental Platform Development
and Chracteristics Analysis of Externl Short Circuit in Lithium-ion
Battery”, Journal of Electrical Engineering, Vol 16. No.1, China, p105-
118, March 2021.
 [5] M.Y. Shi, S.Q. Wang, S.H. Wang, “Research on Multiple Unit Short
Circuit of Ni Cr Alkaline Battery Set of EMU Early Waring Test”,
Journal of Electronics Quality, No.419, China, p44-48, Feb.2022.

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