Method for Quality Parameter

Identification and
Classification in Battery Cell
Production
 Abstract
This paper focuses on the identification of quality relevant process parameters in
the production of high energy lithium-ion battery cells. Today there is still a high
level of uncertainty about the effects of manufacturing processes on the quality of
high energy lithium-ion cells – in industry as well as in research. Compared to
consumer cells, high energy cells used for automotive applications or grid power
supply are subject to much higher quality requirements, especially regarding life
time and safety issues as well as different conditions of operation.
 Set quality objectives for individual processes by
Three major Set an identification and quantification of cell quality
relevant process-product-interactions
requirements
on Battery
Manufacturing
process chain Manage Manage highly complex process chains and
products

Cope with a limited knowledge base due to the

Cope novelty of the investigated field of technology
Method for Quality
Parameter Identification
FMEA-based identification and evaluation of
process product-interactions
The classic process FMEA is designed for production processes and is not suitable
for the identification of failure propagation in a production chain

The possible failure causes are perceived as the process inputs and process
parameters x, disturbance quantities x and properties of the intermediate
product x-1

Thus, the possible failure effects are the process outputs that are the properties
of the intermediate product x
• To fulfil the defined requirements and to overcome the described limitations, following
changes of a classic process FMEA were adapted and implemented by means of
Microsoft Excel®:
1. Failure causes and effects are predefined and can be selected in a drop-down menu for
each failure row of the columns “potential failure” and “potential cause”. The
description of the failure itself must be entered as free text and should be
accompanied by a reference
2. Evaluation quantities for the uncertainty of the expert knowledge “certainty of failure
probability evaluation” and “certainty of failure severity evaluation” have to be
entered additionally
3. The risk level is not calculated since the probability and the severity of a failure or
correlation are not certain in the context of the here performed evaluation
Input • The production chain has to be defined,
information including all process steps of interest as well as
to perform an the intermediate products in between
expert survey • Property lists of the intermediate products as
well as the quality features of the final product
have to be set up
• For each process step a list of process
parameters and disturbance quantities has to be
suggested
 Methodology consisting of process-product interactions
together with severity, probability and according uncertainty
Outputs of a values

successfully Information not only about effects but also about

performed interdependencies between failure causes, since each failure
can be assigned to several causes
expert survey
A simple failure propagation along the production chain, since
process outputs x-1 are inputs for process x

With this procedure, not only all effects can be traced in

forward direction, but also all causes can be analyzed in
backward direction, resulting in a complete cause-and-effect
model of the entire production chain.
 • Quality features of the final product can be
derived from costumer requirements and
thus be implemented in the methodology as
the output of the final process step
• According to a costumer requirement
Fundamental analysis, the quality features of lithium-ion
Product cells can be divided into four different
categories:
Model 1. Performance
2. Lifetime
3. safety
4. geometry
 Performance quality features (PQF)

Performance quality features

(PQF) are derived from the cells
Critical performance values are
primary functional properties
the capacity, operating voltage,
and describe the deviation of a
internal resistance, self
cells actual performance values
discharge and power capability
from its theoretical target
values
 Lifetime quality features (LQF)

Lifetime quality features (LQF) are the cycle stability and the calendric
life of a cell

LQF are usually determined during cell development by substantial

testing and statistical analyses. Because of the test effort LQF are not
controlled in the running production
 Safety quality features (SQF)

• Safety quality features (SQF) describe the stability of the active materials and the reliability
and accuracy of the safety features of a cell as well as the general hazard level, which is to
be expected in case of a malfunction of the cell
• The stability of the active materials is generally investigated in lab experiments
• The reliability and accuracy of the safety features of a cell is tested depending on the
function of the respective features
• The hazard level of automotive cells is investigated by standardized abuse tests specified in
the "EUCAR Hazard Levels and Descriptions"
 Geometry Geometry quality features (GQF) are not
relevant for the cells function, but
quality features dramatically influence the usability of the
cells for a customer
(GQF)
 Pre-selection of parameters

• All correlations fulfilling the statements “probability low && probability evaluation certainty
high” or “severity low && severity evaluation certainty high” are neglected
• Thresholds for the classifications “small” and “high” have to be defined for the four evaluation
categories and have to be chosen according to the implemented evaluation scale
• For all evaluation categories a linear scale from 0 to 3 has been applied, where “0” is equivalent
to “low” or “uncertain” and “3” complies with the logical opposites “high” respectively “certain”.
The remaining correlations are checked according to their effect on quality features of the final
product using the product property categories
Pre-selection according to the categorization
of product properties
• Category 1: Product properties with explicit direct influence on the final
product, according to the column “end effect” of the FMEA, but no
significant influence on any other element of the production chain are part
of category 1.
• Category 2: Product properties of category 2 are part of a cause-and effect
chain leading to a quality feature of the final product. These properties
can be identified by means of a backward analysis beginning at the last
process of the FMEA.
• Category 3: Category 3 covers all properties which have no influence on
the final product, neither directly nor via failure propagation, all properties
not employed in the FMEA are designated part of this category
 • In the first step, the pre-selection according to the
evaluation of failure probability and severity was
conducted. The number of causes and thus the
Results of an complexity of the entire process chain were already
reduced significantly
expert • Second, influence matrices for each process were
survey based generated taking the severity values of each
correlation as matrix elements. Moreover, for each
on the influence matrix line and column totals were
computed
modified 1. The passive sum represents how much each
FMEA effect of a process is influenced by the process
input
2. The active sum summarizes the number and the
strengths of its influences
• Third, all correlations mentioned in the
modified FMEA between the individual
processes were evaluated. Product
properties of each process were
systematically checked according to their
influences on the final product or on
subsequent processes
• Thus, product properties could be
categorized and numerous cause-and-effect
chains with influence on the cell quality
could be identified