Boeing confirms new 787 battery incident

[jsr]

Source: Associated Press

Battery problems resurfaced on Boeing's 787 on Tuesday, after gas was discovered coming out of a battery on a plane parked at Tokyo's main international airport.

Boeing said the problem on a Japan Airlines 787 was discovered during scheduled maintenance. No passengers were on board on the flight. The company said it appears that a single battery cell "vented," or released gas.

Japan Airlines said a mechanic briefly saw white smoke rise from the area below the cockpit but there was no sign it burned.

The battery has been removed from the aircraft for further investigation at its maker, GS Yuasa. JAL spokesman Kentaro Nakamura said the cause was under investigation and may take some time. He said Boeing officials were expected to join the probe in Japan.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_787_BATTERIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-14-21-15-15

[truthisfreedom]

1. That's some bad luck there.

You'd think they'd be able to build a lithium pack that doesn't have so many troubles in 2013.

[defacto7]

2. I'm not convinced about the legitimacy

of these Boeing battery problems. Li-ion batteries are more dangerous than the old NiMH or NiCd batteries this is true. They are much more tricky to charge correctly so as to not go into overcharge. If they do, they will burn at up to 3000 degrees F which is bad... but... it's not rocket science. It's not even expert tech. A novice electrical enthusiast can build a proper 3 tier Li-ion charger... so what gives with these Boeing batteries?

[awoke_in_2003]

3. Probably made in China...

or South Carolina- not much difference between the two.

[Blue_Tires]

8. The battery supplier is a Japanese company...

ironically they were just in the news last month:


GS Yuasa: Dreamliner battery snafu shows suppliers must be more active

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gs-yuasa-dreamliner-battery-snafu-091332124.html

[BlueStreak]

4. I'm not sure they even tried to fix it.

Their "fix" was to built a (literal) firewall container around the batteries.

It isn't like the plane needs to fly on battery power, the way a Tesla must have the maximum concentration of juice. It is really outrageous for them to have chosen the more dangerous battery technology over inherently safer, well-proven technologies that would have done the job just as well.

[defacto7]

7. So instead of fixing the source of the overheating

which is a problem with the manufacturing design in the battery chemistry or the charging process, they put a big firebox around it to contain the combustibles. How reassuring on a gargantuan aircraft. Let's see... put combustible in a sealed container and... isn't that like what we use on July 4th?

[BlueStreak]

11. Basically, yes.

I'm sure they must have had some EEs look at the cause of the fires, but they most certainly remained with the same battery technology, which is inherently more prone to fires than other battery technology that would have done the job.

It is one thing to use that technology in a car, where you can pull over to the side of the road immediately if you smell the burning or see the smoke.

It is a whole different deal when that happens 35,000 feet in the air, 30 minutes from any airport.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. I think they're using a single giant battery, rather

than many smaller batteries as is typical with LiIons. It's easier for the middle of the battery to overheat and go into thermal runaway, is what I heard.

It only saves something like 40 lb over using other technologies that don't have flaming failure modes. You'd think after all these problems...

[defacto7]

6. Personally, I would never trust Li-ion batts

in a form that concentrates the material. To me that's just butt stupid. Separating them into smaller units make them heat manageable and monitorable. One large unit is asking for trouble as sections of the material can overheat differently and travel. Once thermal overload happens you either have small controllable units that have more resistance or at least warning, or you have one big unstoppable 3000ᵒ fire bomb.

NiMH is still the way to go until they can ask a few 16 year old DIY battery buffs how to manage Li-ions.

BTW.. I think they are Japanese made.

[jsr]

9. Their "fix" has negated the weight savings

which they don't want to talk about anymore.

[Blue_Tires]

10. more info:

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5970472/