Controlled Temp Cell Testing Chamber
144-channel controlled temperature cell testing chamber. Chamber is made by Cincinnati Sub-Zero (CSZ) capable of humidity control and temp control from 2*C - 70*C. In practice, this setup was able to maintain all cells on test at the desired temperature within +/- 0.5*C.
Each 5V6A test channel is fed into one of the (144) apartment-style mailboxes inside. The fit of these mailboxes was so tight that we had to temporarily remove some screws from inside the door frame in order to slide it in!
This is a picture of one of the columns of mailboxes in the chamber. The mailboxes themselves are off-the-shelf units, with (2) 4 x 5 modules stacked on top of one another. The rack holding them together was custom made. This was a very tight fit and we ended up having to remove the very top row so that each column contained (72) boxes instead of (80).
We ended up setting up (3) of these chambers and regularly had all (432) test channels running 24/7. These chambers were also tied into a ducting system in the back that was triggered to open by a smoke detector located inside of each chamber in the event of a battery fire. This system has been responsible for detecting and safely containing over a dozen battery fires since its inception. You can see a very tiny piece of the duct work at the very top-center of the chamber on the far left.
This is the original hole-cutting guide I sent to CSZ when we ordered the chambers. The bottom (2) rows of holes are feeding in the cables from the battery testers. The top row of smaller holes is where the smoke-triggered exhaust system connected to the chamber.