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UN38.3 Detection

United Nations Recommendations, Manual of Tests and Standards for the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Section 38.3 – UN38.3 Testing. In order to ensure the safety of air transportation and meet the transportation needs of customers for cargo containing lithium batteries, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IATA’s “Dangerous Goods Regulations”, the rechargeable lithium battery operating code, that is, UN38.3 (UNDOT) test, has been formulated.

According to the requirements of civil aviation regulations, airlines and airport cargo collection and transportation departments should review the transportation documents of lithium batteries, and most importantly, the UN38.3 safety test report of each model of lithium battery. The report can be issued by a third-party testing agency designated by civil aviation or by a battery manufacturer with testing capabilities. If this test report cannot be provided, civil aviation will prohibit lithium batteries from being transported by air.

UN38.3 refers to Part 38.3 of the United Nations Manual of Tests and Standards for the Transport of Dangerous Goods, which requires that before the transportation of lithium batteries, it must pass the height simulation, high and low temperature cycle, vibration test, shock test, short circuit outside 55°C, impact test, overcharge test, and forced discharge test to ensure the safety of lithium battery transportation. If the lithium battery is not installed with the device, it must also pass a 1.2 meter free drop test.

UN38.3 certification mark

Product range:

1. Various power lithium secondary batteries (such as power vehicle batteries, electric road vehicle vehicle batteries, power tool batteries, hybrid vehicle batteries, etc.)

2. Various mobile phone batteries (such as lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, etc.)

3. All kinds of small secondary batteries (such as laptop batteries, digital camera batteries, video camera batteries, various cylindrical batteries, wireless communication batteries, portable DVD batteries, CD and MP3 player batteries, etc.)

4. Various primary batteries (such as lithium manganese batteries, etc.)

Test items:

T.1 Height simulation test

T.2 Thermal Test

T.3 Vibration test

T.4 Impact test

T.5 External short circuit test

T.6 Crash test

T.7 Overcharge test

T.8 Forced discharge test

Criteria for passing the test:

a. T.1 – T.4 No mass loss, no leakage, no exhaust, no disintegration, no rupture, no ignition, open circuit voltage not lower than 90% before the test
b. T.5 – T.6 The surface temperature does not exceed 170°C, and there is no disintegration, no rupture, and no fire within 6 hours of testing
c. T.7 – T.8 No disintegration or fire within 7 days of testing
Packaging requirements and conditions
Lithium batteries and lithium battery packs can be transported as non-restricted items (non-dangerous goods) if they meet all of the following conditions. If any of the following conditions cannot be met, the requirements for the collection and transportation of dangerous goods in UN3090 or UN3091 should be followed:

1. Restrictions on lithium content:

  1. For lithium metal or lithium alloy primary batteries, the lithium content shall not exceed 1g; For lithium-ion primary batteries, their rated watt-hour does not exceed 20Wh. Primary batteries are also called battery cells.
  2. For lithium metal or lithium alloy batteries, the total lithium content does not exceed 2g, and for lithium-ion batteries, its rated watt-hour does not exceed 100Wh. The above “lithium content” refers to the amount of lithium metal on the anode of lithium metal or lithium alloy batteries.
    Whereas for lithium metal or lithium alloy primary cells or batteries, the “lithium equivalent content” in grams is calculated by multiplying 0.3 by the rated capacity amp-hours. For example, if the rated capacity of a mobile phone lithium-ion battery is 800mAh (800mAh), its “lithium equivalent content” is: 0.3 x 0.8 (ampere-hours) = 0.24 grams.

2. Comply with UN test requirements:

Each type of primary battery and battery has been tested to meet all the requirements of Part 3, Section 38.3 of the United Nations Manual of Tests and Standards for the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

3. Packaging requirements:

  1. Unless installed in equipment (such as mobile phones, cameras, walkie-talkies, laptops, etc.), batteries and primary batteries must be individually packaged to prevent short circuits and packed in a sturdy outer package.
  2. Unless installed in the equipment, if each package is equipped with more than 24 primary batteries or 12 batteries, the following requirements must also be met:
    1. Each package must be marked with a mark to indicate the lithium battery and the special measures to be taken when the packaging is damaged.
    2. Each shipment must have a random document explaining the special measures to be taken when the packaging contains lithium batteries and the packaging parts are damaged.
    3. Each packaging must be able to withstand a drop test of 1.2m in any orientation without damaging the battery or meta battery in the package, and not changing the position of the battery so that the battery is in contact with the battery (or primary battery and primary battery), and no battery leaks out of the package.
    4. If the battery is transported separately, the gross weight of each package shall not exceed 10kg.

UN38.3 test version revised to version 6

The Rev.6 version of Part 3 Clause 38.3 (UN38.3) of the United Nations Manual of Tests and Standards for the Transport of Dangerous Goods has been released, which will replace the current Rev.5 version, which has major changes to the testing requirements for lithium batteries, mainly as follows:

In Section 38.3.4.5.2, the ambient temperature requirements for the T5 test item have been changed.

In Chapter 38.3.4.4.2, the peak acceleration value of the acceleration shock has been modified, and the peak acceleration will be less than 150gn for small batteries exceeding 4.48Kg, and the peak acceleration will be less than 50gn for large batteries exceeding 12Kg.

Note: In Section 38.3.4.2.2, the high-temperature storage temperature value of test item T2 has been changed back from 75 ± 2 °C to 72 ± 2 °C.