Causes of laptop battery swelling problem and how to avoid it

7 min read


 

Many of us know the sight of a mobile phone battery swelling after a period of use, and some may have seen it more than once during their lives, which may mean that the life of the battery is about to expire, but the scene that is somewhat less common is a battery swelling. Laptops are supposed to last longer, as manufacturers test their batteries to work efficiently for up to three or four years.

 

Also, laptops are not supposed to work continuously and without stopping for long periods of time compared to phones, but with the increased use and the need to carry out various tasks continuously throughout the day, some may notice that the laptop battery has become somewhat bloated or has a slight or noticeable dent. What is the problem with an inflated or swollen laptop battery? And what are its causes? How can it be avoided in laptop batteries? Can it be treated as soon as it occurs? This is what we will explain in the following lines.

 

Causes of laptop battery swelling problem and how to avoid it

Most laptops and smartphones today use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which have many advantages in addition to their small size compared to other types. It can also be used to power advanced electric vehicles such as the Tesla electric car.

 

Lithium-ion batteries also have low self-discharge rates, when not in use, they lose only about 5% of their charge per month, while other types, such as nickel-hydride batteries, lose up to 20% of their charge per month, and lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from the memory effect as well. It occurs in nickel batteries, especially the nickel-cadmium battery, whose efficiency decreases and the amount of energy it stores when charging each time, it is charged.

 

How does a lithium-ion battery work?

 

How does a lithium-ion battery work

A lithium-ion battery consists of negative electrodes made of carbon and positive electrodes made of lithium cobalt oxide, which contains the lightweight element lithium, a chemically highly active element that contains one electron in its valence shell, which makes it highly reactive, and this property gives it the ability to storing a lot of energy in its atomic bonds; Therefore, lithium-ion batteries have the ability to store energy at a very high density, as a standard lithium-ion battery can store up to 150 watts of electricity per hour of charge, while a standard nickel-hydride battery stores in the same volume about 100 watts/hour From electricity only.

 

The battery's positive and negative electrodes are immersed in an organic solvent that acts as an electrolyte and is separated from each other using a very thin, perforated plastic sheet to allow ions to pass through. The mechanism of action of the lithium-ion battery is that the lithium ions when charged flow through the electrolyte and move from the positive electrodes to the negative electrodes to bond with carbon, and this process is reversed when the battery is discharged, so the lithium ions move again from the negative carbon electrodes to the positive lithium cobalt oxide electrodes.

 

Causes of swollen laptop battery

 

Causes of swollen laptop battery

The swelling of the lithium-ion battery used in laptops is due to the decomposition of the electrolyte between the electrodes, which results in the formation of gas bubbles, usually carbon dioxide, but may sometimes be accompanied by the formation of other more dangerous gases, and the accumulation of these gases causes the battery to swell. The battery then becomes unable to carry out the chemical reactions needed to properly charge and discharge energy, and this problem may develop and exacerbate at times to result in a heat leak that eventually leads to a fire. Electrolyte breakdown occurs due to a number of reasons, the most important of which are the following:

 

Battery overcharging

 

Overcharging and the continuation of electricity flow to the laptop battery even after its capacity is full are the most common causes of laptop battery swelling. After that, the battery continues to be charged with energy for a certain period until the charging is complete, but if the electricity is not disconnected after the charging process is completed, more electrical energy will continue to flow into the battery, which will cause an increase in the value of the voltage inside the cells, and more electricity generates more heat inside the battery.

 

This rise in temperature stimulates chemical reactions inside the cells that lead to the dissolution of the electrolyte located between the electrodes and the formation of some gases that expand, causing a rise in pressure inside the battery, causing it to swell.

 

Battery overcharging

Many manufacturers of laptops and electronic devices such as Dell and Lenovo have been working for years to solve the problem of overcharging in their computers by manufacturing a smart battery that can regulate the process of charging and discharging throughout the day to avoid the battery ever reaching a full state And stop drawing more power from the power socket once the battery reaches 80% or 90% of its maximum capacity.

 

Overheating

 

Of course, the chemical reactions that occur inside lithium-ion battery cells are affected by temperature. Running the device for long hours, especially in hot weather and environments, leads to a high temperature, and over days and years, the battery will be more likely to be affected by excessive heat, which may eventually cause it to swell.

 

Battery deep discharge

 

Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from memory effects unlike some other types of batteries such as nickel-cadmium batteries, thus; There is no need to fully discharge the battery power before recharging it. Rather, deep discharging the battery and depleting its energy by one hundred percent before recharging it is one of the most important reasons that generate high temperature and high pressure inside the battery cells, which leads to battery swelling. Therefore, it is preferable to recharge the lithium-ion battery as soon as its energy content drops below 20% to avoid deep discharging of the cells, the power socket is disconnected and the charging process is stopped as soon as its energy content reaches 80-90% to avoid overcharging.

 

mechanical damage

 

Sometimes the laptop itself hits a hard surface, hits the ground, or damages some parts of it, causing damage to the battery as well, raising its temperature significantly, which leads to swelling.

 

The effect of battery swelling on laptop performance

 

The effect of the laptop battery swelling may not be as great as it may be felt at first, but little by little you will notice that the shape of the device has slowly started to change. If you place it on a flat surface, or you notice that your device no longer stabilizes, the lower part of the case has bulged out and got a little dented.

 

The effect of battery swelling on laptop performance

Battery swelling also affects the performance of the laptop, reducing its operating efficiency while continuing to use the same battery, and you may eventually need to connect it to the mains continuously to ensure that it does not stop working suddenly. The effect of the laptop battery swelling may be more dangerous at times. When trying to replace it, non-professional methods of removing it from the device may cause the battery to explode or puncture, which may cause fires or the leakage of some chemicals and harmful gases from it, as well as if it is not replaced. Over time, it will lead to damage to the device as a whole and the occurrence of irreparable deformations in its external structure and various parts.

 

How to prevent laptop battery swelling and how to treat it

 

There is no known way yet to treat a swollen laptop battery, as the dissolution of the electrolyte between the electrodes in lithium-ion battery cells is a one-way reaction that cannot be reversed once it began, and the only solution, in the end, is to replace the battery after it swells and is damaged by one. New. But this bloating can be avoided or prevented by taking care of some correct usage habits, and here are some tips that may help you maintain the integrity of the lithium-ion battery used in your laptop to work longer and avoid getting bloated:

 

● Be careful not to keep the device connected to the power socket after the battery is fully charged to avoid problems caused by overcharging, and to maintain a correct charging cycle for the battery as it must be discharged and then recharged in order to operate efficiently.

Using the right charger for your laptop can help you avoid overcharging issues.

● Some operating systems help laptop users to avoid problems with overcharging or deep discharge, for example, the Mac operating system provides its users with the free coconutBattery tool to remind the user when it is time to disconnect the power socket from the device and allow the battery to complete the discharge and charging cycle. Windows Similar tools like the free BatteryCare tool and the paid BatteryBar Pro tool.

Avoid the high temperature of the device during operation, and keep it in a cool and dry place as much as possible, as high temperature and a humid surrounding environment reduce the battery life and its operating efficiency over time.

● The damaged battery should be removed and replaced whenever it begins to swell, and not continuing to use it will eventually cause distortion and damage to the frame and parts of the laptop as a whole.

● When replacing the battery of your damaged device with a new one, make sure to buy it from a company with a good reputation in the market, and avoid buying low-quality types that are made from low-cost materials that do not withstand normal operating conditions, and it is definitely preferable to buy an original battery from the same manufacturer of the device.

 

Finally, always remember that you should dispose of damaged or swollen lithium-ion batteries carefully and safely so that you do not open them, puncture them with anything metal, or bend them, as this may cause them to explode and start small fires or leak some chemicals and gases with a strong smell from them. 

You may like these posts

Post a Comment