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Article

Research on the Characteristics of Internal Short Circuits in Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Complex Condition: Nail Penetration Coupled with Charge/Discharge

by
Yong Ding
1,
Wenda Li
2,
Linhui Wang
2 and
Zhoujian An
1,2,*
1
School of Aerospace Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550025, China
2
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Batteries 2026, 12(5), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12050166
Submission received: 25 March 2026 / Revised: 19 April 2026 / Accepted: 8 May 2026 / Published: 11 May 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Energy Storage System Aging, Diagnosis and Safety)
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Abstract

This study systematically investigates the internal short circuit (ISC) characteristics of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for electric vehicles under nail penetration abuse coupled with charge/discharge operations. By establishing a nail penetration coupled with dynamic charge/discharge experimental platform and using commercial NCM pouch cells as test subjects, it comprehensively analyzes the effects of different charge/discharge operations (charging, discharging, resting) and C-rates (0.2 C–3 C) on battery surface temperature, voltage, current, mass loss, and thermal runaway behavior. The research finds that a mutual inhibitory effect exists between discharge operation and ISC, manifested as reduced discharge current along with decreased surge current, temperature rise rate, and voltage drop, significantly lowering the battery’s thermal runaway risk. In contrast, charging operation exacerbates ISC severity, causing increases in surge current, temperature rise rate, maximum temperature, and mass loss with higher C-rates, substantially enhancing thermal hazards. The study further reveals the underlying mechanisms: during discharge, a “Li+ competition” effect suppresses the short-circuit current, whereas during charging, the external power source and the battery jointly form the short-circuit current, intensifying heat generation. This research provides important experimental evidence and theoretical support for the thermal safety design and risk assessment of LIBs under operating conditions.

1. Introduction

After the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, fossil energy represented by coal gradually began to dominate the structure of daily energy use by humankind [1]. Due to its low cost and stable power generation, coal fossil energy is widely used in modern industrial systems. While promoting rapid industrial development, it also causes severe and irreversible damage to the environment [2,3]. Against the backdrop of mitigating the greenhouse effect and pursuing sustainable human development, the global energy structure is progressively shifting from primary energy sources toward green and sustainable energy [4,5]. According to CO2 emission data released by the International Energy Agency, the transportation sector accounts for about 25% of total CO2 emissions. In response to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries have introduced carbon reduction policies for the automotive industry, leading to the large-scale replacement of traditional fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles worldwide [6,7,8]. LIBs serve as a stable power source for electric vehicles [9,10,11]. Although safety performance has improved over years of development, the occurrence of thermal runaway remains unavoidable. Moreover, once a single LIB undergoes thermal runaway, it can quickly trigger thermal runaway propagation, causing widespread thermal runaway in the vehicle’s battery module and resulting in the vehicle catching fire [12]. Additionally, gases produced during LIB thermal runaway may lead to explosions, posing serious threats to human life and property safety [13,14,15].
Mechanical abuse, thermal abuse, and electrical abuse are currently the three primary triggering methods for thermal runaway in LIBs [16,17,18]. Nail penetration is one of the most common forms of mechanical abuse and can easily induce ISC in LIBs, leading to severe consequences such as thermal runaway [19,20]. Research indicates that macroscopic factors including penetration speed, penetration depth, penetration location, nail diameter, state of charge (SOC), and cathode material of the LIB all influence the thermal runaway behavior triggered by nail penetration abuse [21,22,23,24,25]. Currently, most researchers focus on the impact of external macroscopic factors on the thermal runaway of LIBs caused by nail penetration, while studies on the mechanism of ISC induced by nail penetration remain relatively limited. As the nail penetration depth continuously increases, the internal cathode and anode of the LIB become connected by the nail, resulting in local micro-shorts between the nail and the electrode surfaces [26]. During the nail penetration process, electrons move from the anode to the cathode through the external circuit, while lithium ions migrate in the same direction through the electrolyte within the internal circuit. Their coordinated transport forms a closed current loop, triggering an internal short circuit in the battery [27]. During the ISC in the LIB, the rate of change in lithium concentration at the electrode/separator interface decreases as the penetration depth increases. This restricts the lithium-ion diffusion rate at the interface and ultimately affects the peak current of the internal short circuit [28].
In practical electric vehicle operation, thermal runaway in LIBs is typically not triggered by a single abuse condition but results from the synergistic effect of multiple failure modes [29]. Zhou et al. [30] conducted nail penetration coupled with heating abuse experiments on NCM LIBs, demonstrating that the coupling of these two abuse methods exacerbates the severity of thermal runaway. During the increase in initial thermal load, the melted separator and the nail form a protective channel that suppresses ISC. Zhou et al. [31] performed thermal runaway experiments on LIBs using a coupled nail penetration and overcharge test platform. The results indicated that the degree of structural damage in the battery is positively correlated with the overcharge level, and the cathode suffers more severe damage than the anode during overcharging. Zhang et al. [32] investigated the thermal runaway behavior of LIBs under critical thermal load when rapidly penetrated by a nail. They found that the joule heat generated during nail penetration-induced ISC intensifies the chain exothermic reactions of thermal runaway, thereby increasing the severity of the thermal disaster. Previous studies show that research on coupled thermal runaway conditions has primarily focused on the superposition of two single triggering methods, with limited attention to thermal runaway under normal charge/discharge conditions of the battery. However, in many actual electric vehicle incidents, thermal runaway occurs during normal operation when the battery is penetrated by sharp objects due to collision. This scenario belongs to the coupled condition of nail penetration and charge/discharge. Although the thermal hazard induced by this condition is relatively lower compared to other coupled abuse modes, the internal ion and electron transport mechanisms are more complex. The current loop formed by the nail penetration-induced ISC and the loop formed by charge/discharge may exhibit synergistic or competitive interactions, thereby influencing the current and heat generation during the ISC and ultimately affecting the thermal runaway behavior under such coupled conditions.
This study systematically investigates, for the first time, the ISC characteristics of LIBs under nail penetration coupled with charge/discharge conditions. It quantitatively compares the risks and hazards of thermal safety accidents under different charge/discharge operations and current rates, addressing a gap in the understanding of the evolution mechanisms and patterns of thermal safety behavior in operating batteries. Using NCM LIBs—which are widely employed in electric vehicles—as the research subject, this work examines in detail the electro-thermal characteristics of ISC under nail penetration coupled with charge/discharge conditions. The study analyzes the effects of charge/discharge operations and C-rates on the battery surface temperature, voltage, current, and mass loss. A coupling mechanism between charge/discharge and ISC is proposed, providing valuable insights for the safe application of batteries.

2. Experimental Setup

2.1. Experimental System

This study investigates a commercial 3 Ah wound pouch lithium-ion battery (Dongguan Yilisheng Technology Co., Ltd., Dongguan, China) with a nominal voltage of 3.7 V. The cathode material is Li(NixCoyMnz)O2 (NCM), and the anode material is graphite. Detailed battery specifications are provided in Table 1. To ensure consistency among the test batteries, an activation and screening process is conducted. Batteries without external damage, with a mass complying with the manufacturer’s specifications (deviation of measured weight from standard weight is less than 1 g, as measured by an electronic scale), and with a capacity deviation of less than 3% from the nominal capacity are selected for subsequent experiments through visual inspection, weighing, and capacity comparison. The selected batteries are then placed in a thermal chamber (Gaoxin GX-3000-80LHB20, Dongguan Gaoxin Testing Equipment Co., Ltd., Dongguan, China). A battery test system (Neware CT-4008-5V50A, Neware Technology Ltd., Shenzhen, China) is used to perform five pre-cycling cycles at 25 °C and a 0.5 C rate (CC-CV charge, CC discharge, with a cut-off current of 60 mA and cut-off voltages set according to the manufacturer’s specifications) to reduce reversible aging effects and stabilize the internal resistance and charge/discharge capacity [33]. Finally, the batteries are discharged to the required SOC using a constant current of 1.5 A and then allowed to rest for 24 h to ensure the stabilization of their internal electrochemical state.
The nail penetration coupling with dynamic charge/discharge experimental system is shown in Figure 1. The setup includes a thermal chamber (Gaoxin GX-3000-80LHB20, Dongguan Gaoxin Testing Equipment Co., Ltd., Dongguan, China), a battery test system (Neware CT-4008-5V50A, Neware Technology Ltd., Shenzhen, China), a nail penetration machine (Gaoxin GX-5067-BSM, Dongguan Gaoxin Testing Equipment Co., Ltd., Dongguan, China), a K-type thermocouple (OMEGA GG-K-30-SLE, OMEGA ENGINEERING, Inc., Stamford, CT, USA), a data acquisition unit (Keysight DAQ970A, Keysight Technologies, Inc., Beijing, China), and an electronic scale (WANTE WT-C20002, Hangzhou Wante Weighing Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, China). The battery test system is connected to both the thermal chamber and the nail penetration machine. It performs the charge/discharge operations during both battery activation and the nail penetration event, recording the voltage and current variations throughout the process. The K-type thermocouple and data acquisition unit monitor the temperature change on the battery surface during the ISC. To accurately capture the initial spike in the temperature rise rate, the data acquisition interval is set to 200 ms. The electronic scale measures the mass loss of the battery before and after the experiment.
The systematic errors in this experimental study primarily include the temperature measurement error of the thermocouple (±1.1 °C or 0.4%, with a resolution of 0.01 °C), the voltage and current measurement error of the battery test system (±0.05%), the error of the electronic scale (±0.01 g), and the temperature fluctuation of the thermal chamber (±0.5 °C). Random errors mainly consist of variations in the electrochemical performance of the NCM lithium-ion batteries, fluctuations in the ambient temperature during nail penetration-induced ISCs (20 ± 3 °C), positional inaccuracies in thermocouple placement, and deviations in the nail penetration location. In this study, random errors are the primary source of result deviation. To mitigate these, the experiment first activates the batteries and screens them for consistency to reduce performance variations. Before each test, the batteries are stabilized at 25 °C in the thermal chamber for 3 h to minimize the influence of ambient temperature fluctuations. The nail penetration and temperature measurement positions are then calibrated to minimize location-related deviations. Finally, each test condition is repeated three times to ensure reliability. The selection of this number of replicates was based on the following considerations. First, in the field of nail penetration abuse and thermal runaway research on lithium-ion batteries, three replicates are the standard practice for balancing experimental cost with statistical reliability. Second, strict battery consistency screening (mass deviation < 1 g, capacity deviation < 3%) effectively reduced the influence of individual cell variations. Furthermore, statistical analysis of key parameters showed that most coefficients of variation were less than 5%, indicating good data reproducibility. Therefore, three repeated experiments were sufficient to ensure the statistical reliability of the conclusions drawn in this study.

2.2. Experimental Methods and Procedures

This study conducts an experimental investigation on the ISC characteristics of NCM batteries under identical nail penetration conditions coupled with different charge/discharge operations. Based on the principle of controlling variables, it compares the effects of different charge/discharge operations (charging/discharging/resting) and different C-rates (0.2 C/0.5 C/1 C/2 C/3 C) on the temperature, voltage, current, and mass loss during the ISC. There are ten test conditions in total, as listed in Table 2. To stabilize the current and electrochemical state within the battery, the penetration by the tungsten steel nail occurs one minute after the start of the charge/discharge operation. It is noteworthy that the SOC significantly influences the ISC characteristics of NCM batteries, affecting the surge current, temperature rise rate, maximum temperature, mass loss, and mechanical properties [25,34]. Therefore, this study sets the initial SOC according to the C-rate to ensure that all batteries have the same SOC at the moment of nail penetration-induced ISC. The high-temperature-resistant tungsten steel nail used in the penetration experiments has a length of 100 mm, a cone tip angle of 60°, and a diameter of 5 mm. The penetration direction is perpendicular to the largest surface of the pouch cell, and the penetration point is located at the geometric center of this surface. In real-world scenarios, the speed of foreign object penetration is typically high; however, the penetration speed has a minimal impact on battery thermal runaway [35]. Consequently, the penetration speed in this experiment is uniformly set to 10 mm/s. Prior to each test, the steel nail is polished with 100-grit alumina sandpaper to remove the surface oxide layer and the black powder ejected from and deposited on the nail surface during previous ISCs. This procedure maintains consistent surface roughness of the nail to enhance experimental reproducibility. The main component of this powder is carbon, along with trace amounts of small-molecule organic chemicals, metal oxides, carbonates, etc. [36].
Prior to the experiment, the screened NCM batteries are weighed to record their initial mass. They are then placed in a thermal chamber and maintained at 25 °C for 3 h to ensure a uniform initial temperature. The experiments are conducted immediately after their removal. During the experiment, a continuous charge/discharge operation is first applied to the battery according to the preset test conditions. One minute later, ISC is triggered by nail penetration. The nail stops moving after fully penetrating the battery. The termination criterion is when the battery temperature returns to ambient level. The cooling fan remains off to minimize temperature fluctuations. Temperature, voltage, current, and short-circuit duration are recorded throughout. After the experiment, the batteries are weighed a second time to record the mass of the failed cells. Furthermore, to decouple the temperature rise caused by the ISC from that caused by the discharge operation, and to further investigate the heating characteristics of the ISC under coupled discharge conditions, a separate discharge operation is performed on the NCM batteries. The discharge current and duration are set according to the actual current and effective time (sum of the short-circuit duration and the discharge time before short circuit) from the coupled experiments. The temperature change on the battery surface is recorded.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Analysis of ISC Characteristics Coupled with Dynamic Discharge in NCM Batteries

This section investigated the patterns of temperature, voltage, and mass loss changes during nail penetration-induced ISC in NCM lithium-ion batteries under operating conditions (i.e., during discharge operation). It provided a reference for a comprehensive understanding of the behavior and mechanism of ISCs coupled with dynamic discharge in lithium-ion batteries. The analysis corresponded to tests 1–6 in the nail penetration coupled with charge/discharge experiments, as listed in Table 2.
Figure 2a shows the temperature variation during the ISC coupled with the discharge operation. The results indicated that the C-rate significantly influenced the thermal behavior of the battery. First, during the discharge-only phase, no temperature rise was observed at 0.2 C. The temperature increases caused by discharging at 0.5 C, 1 C, 2 C, and 3 C rates were 0.12 °C, 0.53 °C, 2.59 °C, and 6.29 °C, respectively. The increase in the discharge rate led to higher local current density and overpotential, which intensified polarization and accelerated the electrochemical reaction rate. This resulted in increased heat generation from ohmic resistance, reaction, and polarization [37], ultimately causing the battery temperature to rise more rapidly with increasing discharge rate.
Secondly, during the phase of ISC coupled with discharge, the discharge operation delayed and attenuated the occurrence of macroscopic phenomena. As shown in Table 3, the onset times for smoke emission, bulging, and electrolyte leakage were delayed with increasing C-rate. This indicated that under discharge operation, the sensitivity of the ISC, characterized by the temperature rise rate, decreased as the C-rate increased. The sensitivity ranking of the ISC, from high to low, was: 0 C > 0.2 C > 0.5 C > 1 C > 2 C > 3 C. It is important to emphasize that the times in Table 3 refer to the time interval from the contact between the steel nail and the battery surface to the occurrence of the macroscopic phenomenon. No significant differences in the maximum temperature were observed in the experiments. ISCs coupled with different discharge rates exhibited similar thermal hazards.
Subsequently, the temperature rise rate during discharge-coupled ISC was quantitatively analyzed. As shown in Figure 2b, the peak temperature rise rates during the initial ISC stage under 0 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, 2 C, and 3 C discharge conditions were 10.34 °C/s, 9.90 °C/s, 9.26 °C/s, 8.08 °C/s, 7.51 °C/s, and 6.12 °C/s, respectively. The peak temperature rise rate decreased with increasing discharge rate, indicating that the discharge operation reduced the risk of immediate thermal runaway upon ISC initiation. During discharge, a higher current rate resulted in lower lithium concentration in the cathode electrolyte at the same SOC, while the lithium concentration on the surface of cathode particles became higher [38]. This made the cathode electrolyte more prone to lithium depletion and the cathode particle surface more susceptible to lithium saturation during an ISC. The enhanced limitation of Li+ transport significantly suppressed the rate of the internal electrochemical reaction, leading to a reduction in both the surge current and the peak temperature rise rate. It is noteworthy that during the sustained ISC stage, the battery’s temperature rise rate decreased with increasing discharge rate. This demonstrated that the discharge operation suppressed heat generation from the ISC, and the degree of suppression increased with the current. This phenomenon will be explained in detail in subsequent analysis combined with voltage and discharge current data. Furthermore, the elevated temperature improved the electrochemical kinetics within the battery, which increased heat generation during the ISC and resulted in a rebound of the temperature rise rate.
The NCM batteries exhibited different voltage behaviors during the ISC under various discharge rates, as shown in Figure 3a. The entire process was divided into three distinct stages. In the first stage (discharge-only stage), the battery was in a constant current discharge state for one minute before nail penetration. As the discharge rate increased, the polarization effect intensified and more capacity was discharged within the same time, leading to an accelerated drop in terminal voltage. In the second stage (discharge-coupled ISC stage), the battery experienced a hard short circuit immediately upon nail penetration and the voltage dropped sharply from its initial value to nearly 0 V. Subsequently, the voltage entered a relatively stable plateau, indicating that the ISC had reached a steady state. The voltage value during the plateau increased slightly with the discharge rate, reflecting differences in the total resistance of the short-circuit loop at different rates. In the third stage (final stage of the short circuit), as the battery energy was gradually depleted, the voltage rapidly decayed exponentially from the plateau to 0 V. Under high-rate discharge conditions, this decay process was more prolonged because the elevated Internal temperature Improved the electrochemical kinetics, thereby delaying the moment of complete battery failure.
Figure 3b summarizes the total voltage drop during the discharge operation coupled with ISC. An increased voltage drop indicated a higher short-circuit current and a lower short-circuit resistance, reflecting an increase in the severity of the internal short circuit [28]. In this experiment, the average voltage drops for ISC coupled with 0 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, 2 C, and 3 C discharge were 3.33 V, 3.41 V, 3.54 V, 3.62 V, 3.62 V, and 3.64 V, respectively. The results showed that in the lower discharge rate range (0 C to 1 C), the total voltage drop increased with the discharge rate. However, in the higher discharge rate range (1 C to 3 C), no significant difference in the total voltage drop was observed. This trend indicated that as the discharge rate increased, the total resistance of the discharge-coupled ISC first decreased and then stabilized, while the total current gradually increased and eventually reached a plateau. It should be noted that, according to the equivalent circuit model, the total resistance is the parallel combination of the short-circuit resistance and the discharge resistance, and the total current is the sum of the short-circuit current and the discharge current.
The limitation of Li+ transport rate within the NCM battery is likely the main cause of this phenomenon. At low C-rate discharge, the internal Li+ transport rate had not yet reached its upper limit. Therefore, as the C-rate increased, the discharge resistance decreased, leading to a reduction in total resistance and an increase in total current. However, during high C-rate discharge, the internal Li+ transport rate had already reached its upper limit, thereby stabilizing both the total resistance and the total current.
The total voltage drop during the discharge operation coupled with ISC consisted of two components: the discharge voltage drop and the ISC voltage drop. The ISC voltage drop referred to the instantaneous voltage drop at the moment of ISC initiation and reflected the severity of the internal short circuit. The discharge voltage drop referred to the decrease in terminal voltage during discharge, as shown in Figure 3c. Under pure short-circuit conditions (0 C), the ISC voltage drop remained at a relatively high level. Under low-rate discharge conditions, the ISC voltage drop showed no significant change compared to the pure short-circuit case, indicating that low-rate discharge had a limited effect on the severity of the internal short circuit. As mentioned previously, the discharge voltage drop increased monotonically with the discharge rate. However, under high-rate discharge conditions, the ISC voltage drop exhibited a clear decreasing trend, demonstrating that high-rate discharge significantly suppressed the severity of the internal short circuit, and this suppressive effect intensified with increasing discharge rate. The underlying mechanism was that during high-rate discharge, the Li+ transport rate within the battery had already reached its upper limit. A “Li+ competition” relationship was established between the discharge operation and the ISC. The discharge process “occupied” a portion of the Li+ flux, thereby weakening the Li+ pathway in the internal short-circuit loop, which in turn suppressed the short-circuit current and the corresponding voltage drop.
The discharge operation significantly influenced the ISC; conversely, the ISC also affected the discharge current, as shown in Figure 4. During the ISC, the current under 0 C, 0.2 C, and 0.5 C discharge conditions remained in a constant-current state and was unaffected by the ISC. In contrast, under 1 C, 2 C, and 3 C discharge conditions, the current exhibited a noticeable drop after the ISC was triggered, decreasing by 0.3 A, 2.5 A, and 5.8 A, respectively. The magnitude of the drop increased with the C-rate. Combined with temperature and voltage data, this confirms that at higher discharge rates, the Li+ transport rate reached its upper limit, simultaneously suppressing both the ISC and the discharge process. The higher the C-rate, the more pronounced this suppressive effect. It is noteworthy that after the discharge current dropped to its lowest point, a rebound phenomenon occurred. This was because the elevated temperature reduced the viscosity of the electrolyte and increased the ion diffusion coefficient, ionic conductivity, and chemical reaction rate at the electrode/electrolyte interface [25], thereby raising the upper limit of the Li+ transport rate and restoring the discharge current. After the short circuit ended, the current gradually decreased to 0 A in an exponential manner, and this process was delayed with increasing C-rate.
Figure 5 shows the mass loss during discharge operation coupled with ISC. Due to the similar maximum temperatures, the mass loss under different discharge current-coupled ISC conditions showed no significant difference, accounting for approximately 5% of the total battery mass. This value is considerably lower than that observed in thermal runaway scenarios, with electrolyte evaporation being the primary cause [39]. Under these conditions, the heat dissipation caused by mass loss was low, and the heat dissipation conditions across different test scenarios were similar. Therefore, it can be concluded that the temperature rise during discharge operation coupled with ISC consisted of two components: the temperature rise caused by heat generation from the discharge operation and the temperature rise caused by heat generation from the ISC.
To further clarify the contribution of discharge heat generation and ISC heat generation to the temperature rise, the temperature variation of the NCM battery during the discharge process was first investigated. As shown in Figure 6a, the current was set to the actual current during discharge-coupled ISC (as shown in Figure 4), and the time duration was set as the interval between the start of discharge and the point when the ISC reached its maximum temperature (as shown in Figure 2). The temperature rises caused by discharge at 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, 2 C, and 3 C rates were found to be 0.07 °C, 0.35 °C, 1.53 °C, 5.13 °C, and 9.69 °C, respectively, indicating that the temperature rise rate during discharge-only increased significantly with the discharge rate. Subsequently, the ISC-induced temperature rise was obtained by subtracting the discharge-induced temperature rise from the total temperature rise. As shown in Figure 6b, no significant difference was observed in the ISC-induced temperature rise at low C-rates, while a noticeable decrease occurred at higher C-rates. This demonstrated that at higher discharge rates, the suppression of the ISC in the NCM battery increased with rising current, leading to reduced heat generation.

3.2. Analysis of ISC Characteristics Coupled with Dynamic Charging in NCM Batteries

This section investigated the patterns of temperature, voltage, and mass loss changes during nail penetration-induced ISC in NCM lithium-ion batteries under charging conditions. A method for measuring the short-circuit resistance during nail penetration abuse was proposed. The findings provide a reference for a comprehensive understanding of the behavior and mechanism of internal short circuits coupled with dynamic charging in lithium-ion batteries. The analysis corresponded to tests 1, 7–10 in the nail penetration coupled with charge/discharge experiments, as listed in Table 2.
Figure 7a shows the temperature variation during the charging operation coupled with ISC. First, during the charging-only phase, no temperature rise was observed at a 0.2 C rate. The temperature increases caused by charging at 0.5 C, 1 C, and 2 C rates were 0.19 °C, 0.64 °C, and 3.02 °C, respectively. Similar to the discharge operation, the battery temperature rise accelerated with increasing current rate. At the same C-rate, the temperature rise induced by charging was higher than that caused by discharge. It should be noted that a comparison between Figure 2a and Figure 7a revealed that under the same C-rate, the temperature rise caused by the charging operation was generally larger than that caused by the discharge operation. Taking the 2 C rate as an example, the temperature rise during the discharge phase was 2.5 °C, while that during the charging phase was 3.02 °C, with the latter being approximately 17% higher than the former. Similarly, at 0.5 C and 1 C rates, the temperature rises during charging (0.19 °C and 0.64 °C, respectively) were also higher than those during discharging (0.12 °C and 0.53 °C, respectively). This comparison indicated that the charging operation produced more significant thermal effects than the discharge operation. The main reason was that the Joule heat and polarization heat generated by the internal resistance of the battery were more concentrated during the charging process.
Secondly, during the charging-coupled ISC phase, the charging operation accelerated and intensified the occurrence of macroscopic phenomena. As shown in Table 4, the onset times for smoke emission, swelling, and electrolyte leakage occurred earlier with increasing C-rate. This indicated that under charging operation, the sensitivity of the ISC increased with the C-rate. The sensitivity ranking, from high to low, was: 2 C > 1 C > 0.5 C > 0.2 C > 0 C. Regarding the maximum temperature, it increased with the C-rate during the charging-coupled ISC, demonstrating greater heat generation and higher thermal hazard.
Subsequently, a quantitative analysis was performed on the temperature rise rate during the charging-coupled ISC. As shown in Figure 7b, the peak temperature rise rates during the ISC stage under 0 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, and 2 C charging conditions were 10.34 °C/s, 11.16 °C/s, 10.57 °C/s, 12.08 °C/s, and 17.23 °C/s, respectively. The slight decrease at 0.5 C might have been caused by experimental randomness. Overall, the peak temperature rise rate increased with the C-rate, indicating that the charging operation raised the risk of thermal runaway immediately upon ISC initiation. The mechanism inducing this phenomenon was the same as that for the discharge-coupled ISC, both being caused by changes in the internal Li+ concentration of the battery. During charging, a higher C-rate resulted in a higher lithium concentration in the cathode electrolyte and a lower lithium concentration on the surface of the cathode particles at the same SOC [38]. This made it more difficult for the cathode electrolyte to be depleted of lithium and for the cathode particle surface to become saturated with lithium during an ISC, thereby weakening the suppressive effect of Li+ transport limitations on the internal electrochemical reaction rate. Consequently, both the surge current and the peak temperature rise rate increased. During the sustained ISC stage, the temperature rise rate at 0.2 C showed no significant difference from that at 0 C, while the rates at 0.5 C, 1 C, and 2 C increased sequentially, confirming the enhanced sensitivity of the charging-coupled ISC.
In summary, the thermal characteristics of charging-coupled ISC were almost entirely opposite to those of discharge-coupled ISC. As the C-rate increased, the surge current, maximum temperature, and temperature rise rate all exhibited an upward trend. This intensified both the sensitivity and hazard of the charging-coupled ISC, making this behavior noteworthy.
Figure 8 shows the variations in voltage, instantaneous voltage drop during the short circuit, charging voltage rise, and post-ISC voltage rise during the charging operation coupled with ISC. The results indicated that during the charging-only phase, the voltage behavior was opposite to that during the discharge-only phase. The average voltage rises under 0 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, and 2 C charging were 0 V, 0.09 V, 0.22 V, 0.42 V, and 0.91 V, respectively. Due to intensified polarization effects and increased capacity input, the voltage accelerated more rapidly with increasing C-rate.
The total voltage drop during the ISC is shown in Figure 8b. The average voltage drops under charging conditions from 0 C to 2 C were 3.33 V, 3.39 V, 3.46 V, 3.60 V, and 3.79 V, respectively. The total voltage drop increased with the C-rate, indicating that the short-circuit current rose and the severity intensified during charging-coupled ISC.
During the charging-coupled ISC phase, the battery experienced a hard short circuit. After the ISC, the voltage did not drop to 0 V but stabilized at a constant value. This value increased with the charging rate, with average values from 0 C to 2 C being 0 V, 0.06 V, 0.14 V, 0.28 V, and 0.67 V, respectively. When the charging was terminated, the voltage instantly dropped to 0 V, confirming that the NCM battery had completely failed at this point. The post-ISC voltage rise represented the terminal voltage across the short-circuit resistance, supplied by the charging voltage source. During the stable ISC period, the voltage behavior under 0.2 C, 0.5 C, and 1 C charging was similar, while the voltage under 2 C charging was significantly higher than in other conditions. Combined with the post-ISC voltage rise, it can be concluded that at low charging rates, the terminal voltage across the short-circuit resistance was dominated by the battery voltage. In contrast, under 2 C charging, the increased voltage from the charging source became the dominant factor for the terminal voltage across the short-circuit resistance.
Figure 9a shows the variation in charging current during the ISC. It can be seen that the current remained constant under all test conditions, and the ISC had no impact on the charging current. During the charging-coupled ISC process, the short-circuit resistance consisted of the inherent resistance of the steel nail and the contact resistance between the nail and the battery, which remained essentially constant. Based on the above analysis, after the ISC ended, the terminal voltage across the short-circuit resistance was the post-ISC voltage rise, and the current was the charging current. Using Ohm’s law, the short-circuit resistance could be calculated, as shown in Figure 9b. The average short-circuit resistances at 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, and 2 C rates were 108 mΩ, 95 mΩ, 94 mΩ, and 105 mΩ, respectively, showing good consistency. Using the charging process to measure the short-circuit resistance induced by nail penetration proved to be a feasible method, providing a basis for setting resistance parameters in numerical simulations.
The mass loss resulting from the charging operation coupled with ISC is shown in Figure 10. The average mass losses under 0 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, and 2 C charging rates were 2.48 g, 2.46 g, 2.52 g, 2.60 g, and 2.74 g, respectively. The experimental results indicated that charging at higher C-rates increased the mass loss of the lithium-ion battery, thereby elevating the hazard associated with charging-coupled ISC. At lower C-rates, due to minimal temperature variation, no significant difference in mass loss was observed.

3.3. Comparison and Mechanism Analysis of ISCs Coupled with Dynamic Charge/Discharge

The experimental results indicated that the charge/discharge operations caused significant changes in the temperature, voltage, and mass loss of the NCM battery during the ISC. These operations substantially affected the battery’s ISC sensitivity, hazard level, and thermal runaway risk, necessitating further comparative analysis. This section comprehensively compared the ISC characteristics of the battery under resting (0 C) and 2 C charge/discharge conditions, corresponding to tests 1, 5, and 10 in the nail penetration coupled with charge/discharge experiments, as listed in Table 2.
Figure 11 shows the temperature and temperature rise rate during the ISC under resting and 2 C charge/discharge conditions.
During the charge/discharge-only phase, the 2 C charging process resulted in a temperature rise of 3.02 °C, which was higher than the 2.59 °C observed under 2 C discharging. Both charging and discharging caused the battery to generate heat, raising the initial temperature at which the ISC was triggered and increasing the risk of thermal runaway [40]. During the ISC, the influence of charge/discharge operations on the peak initial temperature rise rate, caused by the surge current, exhibited completely opposite effects. Charging increased the surge current, leading to a higher peak temperature rise rate, while discharging had the opposite effect. The ranking of the surge current and peak initial temperature rise rate, from highest to lowest, was: charging > resting > discharging. Compared to charging, the risk of immediate thermal runaway upon ISC initiation was lower during discharging. In the stable ISC phase, the temperature rise rate ranked from highest to lowest was: charging > resting > discharging. The sensitivity of the ISC was lower during discharging compared to charging. However, due to its longer short-circuit duration, the maximum temperature showed no significant difference from that of the resting battery, indicating that the hazard of the ISC cannot be overlooked. The charging-coupled ISC had the shortest duration but the highest temperature rise, representing a greater hazard from the internal short circuit.
The voltage and ISC voltage drop during the ISC under resting and 2 C charge/discharge conditions are shown in Figure 12. A hard short circuit occurred under all conditions. The ISC voltage drop, from largest to smallest, was: charging > resting > discharging. This indicated that the severity of the charging-coupled ISC was the highest, while the discharge operation weakened the coupled ISC, thereby improving the thermal safety of the battery. Furthermore, during the discharge process, only the battery acted as the voltage source. Battery failure meant the discharge ceased, resulting in a lower risk of thermal runaway.
The mass loss during the ISC under resting and 2 C charge/discharge conditions is shown in Figure 13. Among these, the 2 C charging-coupled ISC exhibited the highest mass loss, with an average of 2.74 g, accounting for approximately 5.6% of the total battery mass. The resting and 2 C discharge-coupled ISC showed similar mass losses, with an average of 2.48 g, accounting for about 5% of the total battery mass. The mass loss, ranked from highest to lowest, was: charging > resting ≈ discharging. This indicated that charging increased the mass loss during the ISC, thereby elevating the hazard associated with the coupled internal short circuit.
Based on the above analysis, during the discharge-coupled ISC process, this study found that a mutual inhibitory effect existed between the discharge operation and the ISC. The inhibition of the discharge was manifested as a reduction in the discharge current, while the inhibition of the ISC was reflected in decreases in the surge current, temperature rise rate, short-circuit voltage drop, and short-circuit temperature rise. As a result, the sensitivity, hazard level, and thermal runaway risk of the battery were significantly reduced, thereby improving its thermal safety.
The coupling mechanism between discharge and ISC is illustrated in Figure 14. The circuit during an internal short circuit in a lithium-ion battery consists of two parts: the Li+ circuit formed by the anode-separator-cathode, and the e− circuit formed by the negative current collector-steel nail-positive current collector. The current in the Li+ circuit is determined by the upper limit of the electrochemical reaction rate inside the battery, which is much lower than that in the e− circuit. When a hard short circuit occurred, the electrochemical reaction rate inside the battery reached its upper limit. At this point, the Li+ circuit had already reached its current limit. Due to this reaction rate limitation, discharging the battery could not alter the current magnitude in the Li+ circuit. Instead, it created “Li+ competition” between the discharge and the ISC. To maintain its current, the discharge process “occupied” a portion of the Li+, thereby weakening the Li+ circuit in the ISC loop. This subsequently suppressed the e− circuit, reduced the short-circuit current, and decreased the heat generation from the ISC. The discharge process was also inhibited, with its current significantly lower than the set value. Since the discharge resistance was considerably higher than the ISC resistance, the heat generated by discharge was relatively low. Consequently, the total heat generation during discharge-coupled ISC decreased.
Compared to the ISC under resting and discharging conditions, the charging-coupled ISC exhibited higher surge current, temperature rise rate, maximum temperature, and short-circuit voltage drop. This led to greater ISC sensitivity, higher hazard potential, and an increased risk of thermal runaway. The charging operation significantly reduced the thermal safety of the battery during the internal short circuit.
The mechanism of the ISC under charging conditions is illustrated in Figure 15. During the charging-only phase, the electrical energy output from the voltage source was continuously converted into the electrochemical energy of the battery. The charging circuit consisted of an e− circuit and a Li+ circuit. During the sustained ISC phase, experimental results confirmed that the battery underwent short-circuit discharge. According to Kirchhoff’s current law, the current direction in the circuit was unique. Therefore, the charging circuit changed to: voltage source → positive current collector → steel nail → negative current collector → voltage source. This circuit did not involve the Li+ circuit, meaning there was no “Li+ competition” with the ISC. Instead, it combined with the current output from the battery to form the short-circuit current, leading to an increase in the short-circuit current, greater heat generation, and reduced thermal safety. After the ISC ended, the battery failed and stopped discharging. At this point, the charging circuit remained unaffected, and the voltage source continued to supply current, heating the current collectors and the steel nail. This sustained the possibility of thermal runaway in the battery.

4. Conclusions

This study employed a nail penetration test to induce an ISC, investigating the electro-thermal characteristics of NCM batteries during dynamic charge/discharge-coupled ISC. It compared and analyzed the effects of charge/discharge operations and C-rate on the battery surface temperature, voltage, current, and mass loss. A mechanism for charge/discharge-coupled ISC was proposed. The main conclusions are as follows:
(1) During the discharge-coupled ISC process, a mutual inhibition was observed between the discharge operation and the severe ISC. The suppression of the discharge by the ISC manifested as a reduction in the discharge current, while the suppression of the ISC by the discharge was reflected in decreases in the surge current, temperature rise rate, short-circuit voltage drop, and short-circuit temperature rise. As the discharge current increased, this inhibitory effect strengthened, leading to a significant reduction in the battery’s ISC sensitivity, hazard level, and thermal runaway risk. The thermal safety was higher than that of the battery under resting conditions.
(2) During the charging-coupled ISC process, compared to the ISC in the resting battery, the surge current, temperature rise rate, maximum temperature, short-circuit voltage drop, and mass loss all increased. As the charging current increased, the severity of the coupled ISC intensified, resulting in higher ISC sensitivity, greater hazard potential, and an elevated risk of thermal runaway. The thermal safety was lower than that of the resting battery.
(3) When the battery experienced a severe ISC, the internal electrochemical reaction rate reached its upper limit, causing the Li+ circuit to attain its current limit. If coupled with a discharge operation, “Li+ competition” occurred between the discharge and the ISC in order to maintain the current. This reduced the current in the ISC loop, thereby suppressing the internal short circuit. If coupled with a charging operation, the charging current and the current output from the battery combined to form the short-circuit current, leading to an increase in the short-circuit current and greater heat generation.
The “Li+ competition” mechanism was proposed in this study to explain the suppressive effect of high-rate discharge on the ISC. This mechanism was currently inferred indirectly based on comprehensive analyses of multi-parameter responses, yet direct experimental verification remained lacking. In future research, direct validation of this mechanism could be pursued through the following approaches: characterizing the spatial and temporal distribution of lithium concentration using in situ X-ray diffraction or neutron diffraction techniques, analyzing impedance changes via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, or monitoring local potential responses by embedding micro-electrodes inside the battery. These are key directions for future work. Nevertheless, regardless of whether this mechanism is ultimately validated, the core experimental conclusion revealed by this study, that high-rate discharge significantly suppresses the severity of the ISC, is fully established on direct experimental measurements (temperature, voltage, current, mass loss) and is therefore objective and reliable.

Author Contributions

Y.D.: Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Writing—review and editing; W.L.: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft; L.W.: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft; Z.A.: Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources; Writing—review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Guizhou Provincial Major Scientific and Technological Program (XKBF(2025)031); the Guizhou Science and Technology Innovation Leading Talent Workstation (KXJZ(2025)024); the Guizhou Provincial Basic Research Program (Natural Science) (MS[2025]189; ZD[2026]076); the Academic New Seed Cultivation and Innovation Exploration Project (Guizhou Institute of Technology) [2024XSXM007] and the Scientific Start-up Project of GuiZhou Institute of Technology [2023GCC019].

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available by the authors upon request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Figure 1. The schematic of test platform for penetration coupling dynamic charge/discharge.
Figure 1. The schematic of test platform for penetration coupling dynamic charge/discharge.
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Figure 2. (a) Temperature and (b) temperature rise rate during ISC coupling discharge.
Figure 2. (a) Temperature and (b) temperature rise rate during ISC coupling discharge.
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Figure 3. The (a) voltage, (b) total voltage drop and (c) discharge/ISC voltage drop during ISC coupling discharge.
Figure 3. The (a) voltage, (b) total voltage drop and (c) discharge/ISC voltage drop during ISC coupling discharge.
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Figure 4. Discharge current during ISC coupling discharge.
Figure 4. Discharge current during ISC coupling discharge.
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Figure 5. Mass loss during ISC coupling discharge.
Figure 5. Mass loss during ISC coupling discharge.
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Figure 6. Temperature during (a) discharge and (b) ISC.
Figure 6. Temperature during (a) discharge and (b) ISC.
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Figure 7. (a) Temperature and (b) temperature rise rate during ISC coupling charge.
Figure 7. (a) Temperature and (b) temperature rise rate during ISC coupling charge.
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Figure 8. (a) Voltage, (b) instantaneous voltage drop of short circuit and (c) charge/after-ISC voltage rise during ISC coupling charge.
Figure 8. (a) Voltage, (b) instantaneous voltage drop of short circuit and (c) charge/after-ISC voltage rise during ISC coupling charge.
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Figure 9. (a) Charge current and (b) short-circuit resistance during ISC coupling charge.
Figure 9. (a) Charge current and (b) short-circuit resistance during ISC coupling charge.
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Figure 10. Mass loss during ISC coupling charge.
Figure 10. Mass loss during ISC coupling charge.
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Figure 11. (a) Temperature and (b) temperature rise rate during ISC under rest and 2 C charge/discharge.
Figure 11. (a) Temperature and (b) temperature rise rate during ISC under rest and 2 C charge/discharge.
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Figure 12. (a) Voltage and (b) ISC voltage drop during ISC under rest and 2 C charge/discharge.
Figure 12. (a) Voltage and (b) ISC voltage drop during ISC under rest and 2 C charge/discharge.
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Figure 13. Mass loss during ISC under rest and 2 C charge/discharge.
Figure 13. Mass loss during ISC under rest and 2 C charge/discharge.
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Figure 14. The principle of ISC coupling discharge.
Figure 14. The principle of ISC coupling discharge.
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Figure 15. The principle of ISC coupling charge.
Figure 15. The principle of ISC coupling charge.
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Table 1. Cell specifications.
Table 1. Cell specifications.
ParametersSpecifications
Dimensions (Length × Width × Height, mm)58 × 40 × 9.7
Cathode materialNCM
Anode materialGraphite
Nominal voltage (V)3.7
Cut-off voltage (V)Charge: 4.2 ± 0.05 V
Discharge: 2.75 ± 0.05 V
Standard current (A)Charge: 3 A
Discharge: 6 A
Mass (g)45.80 ± 0.5
Energy Density (Wh/kg)242.4 ± 3
Table 2. Summary of penetration coupling dynamic charge/discharge test conditions.
Table 2. Summary of penetration coupling dynamic charge/discharge test conditions.
Test NumberCharge/Discharge OperationC-RateInitial SOC
1/050.00%
2Discharge0.250.33%
3Discharge0.550.83%
4Discharge151.67%
5Discharge253.33%
6Discharge355.00%
7Charge0.249.67%
8Charge0.549.17%
9Charge148.33%
10Charge246.67%
Table 3. The times at which macroscopic phenomena occur during ISC coupling discharge.
Table 3. The times at which macroscopic phenomena occur during ISC coupling discharge.
C-Rate ISmoke Onset Time (s)Swelling Onset Time (s)Vent Onset Time (s)
0323744
0.2343947
0.5374347
1404553
2414857
3475360
Table 4. The times at which macroscopic phenomena occur during ISC coupling charge.
Table 4. The times at which macroscopic phenomena occur during ISC coupling charge.
C-Rate ©Smoke Onset Time (s)Swelling Onset Time (s)Vent Onset Time (s)
0323744
0.2303745
0.5283643
1273340
2212734
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Ding, Y.; Li, W.; Wang, L.; An, Z. Research on the Characteristics of Internal Short Circuits in Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Complex Condition: Nail Penetration Coupled with Charge/Discharge. Batteries 2026, 12, 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12050166

AMA Style

Ding Y, Li W, Wang L, An Z. Research on the Characteristics of Internal Short Circuits in Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Complex Condition: Nail Penetration Coupled with Charge/Discharge. Batteries. 2026; 12(5):166. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12050166

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ding, Yong, Wenda Li, Linhui Wang, and Zhoujian An. 2026. "Research on the Characteristics of Internal Short Circuits in Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Complex Condition: Nail Penetration Coupled with Charge/Discharge" Batteries 12, no. 5: 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12050166

APA Style

Ding, Y., Li, W., Wang, L., & An, Z. (2026). Research on the Characteristics of Internal Short Circuits in Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Complex Condition: Nail Penetration Coupled with Charge/Discharge. Batteries, 12(5), 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries12050166

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