Where did the spark come from
Where did the spark come from anyway?
My guess is that the NHTSA did depower the vehicle right after testing. This seems like normal protocol. Thus, a depowering event causing a spark a week, 2 wks, or 3wks later could not have caused the spark that ignited the gas. Well take a look at your gas grill, more specifically the igniter. Within the typical house hold gas grill igniter exist a very powerful and exotic material. Yes, most have a material called PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) which is a very well-known and well-used piezoelectric material. Point being, LG Chem LTD also has this material in its batteries (just review their patents)! If it is not a short circuit created by the vehicle depowering causing the spark then what could it have been. Well, GM is standing by their statement that there was an internal short caused by depowering event even if it does not make sense. They are basically saying that the NHTSA does not know how to conduct a test.
The same safety feature/material (i.e. inorganic piezoelectric particles) that LG Chem LTD puts into their Chevy Volt batteries, that supposedly prevents fires, is now turning around and biting them, and putting A123 System’s in front of the pack at the same time. In fact, this is the same material which caused GM to switch to A123 Systems for its new GM Spark EV (yeah me too, the fire is from a Spark and that's what they name their next, and best, micro-HeV??). This is the same reason why LG Chem LTD, after going back to the drawing board, filed another patent, currently in EU application phase. This patent application is not of the innovative type, it is of the damage control type. LG had to find a way to implement this piezoelectric effect (i.e. their inorganic piezoelectric particles), maintaining the same performance gains, keep with their supposed safety feature and win the next major HeV battery supply contract. At current, there is a very large and far reaching difference between LG Chem LTD and A123 System’s Lithium batteries and older Lithium batteries of just 4 or so years ago. LG Chem was the first out of the gate, and A123 System’s learned from their mistakes. A much safer implementation of the piezoelectric effect is possible without giving up the performance and high-rate cyclic performance. It’s a learning process and we will see GM jump horses many times in the future. These Lithium battery manufacturers are at war, there will be many step type increases in performance over the next 5 or so years. The resultant batteries will be of a new age and they will meet all our needs.
The NHTSA should take a closer look and conduct a material analysis of LG Chem’s batteries and if these piezoelectric particles exist, and they are not electrically isolated from the chemical reaction process within the cell, they should consider that this material may have been the ignition source. This type of material can and should be used to make our batteries perform better and last longer and they can be utilized in a completely safe manner.
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Piezoelectricity means that if you deform this material it will generate a voltage, and if you apply a voltage to it it will deform. So, in LG Chem's battery they put this material in to prevent a short-circuit upon an impact. The idea is the piezoelectric material will create voltage at impact and essentailly opposes the short circuit potential