Battery knowledge · Testing methods

Altitude simulation test

Storing cells or batteries at low air pressure to show they survive unpressurised air freight without leaking, venting or rupturing. UN 38.3 test T1 holds them at 11.6 kPa or less — the pressure at about 15 000 m — for at least six hours at room temperature. [1] [2]

Also called
low-pressure test, UN 38.3 T1

Example

Testing methods: an example situation

Resistance immediately after a current step can differ from a ten-second value because slower polarization contributes.

Read Altitude simulation test alongside Thermal shock and cycling test in this context. Moving a cell or pack rapidly between temperature extremes, typically −40 °C and +60 to +85 °C, for many cycles, to find seals, welds and housings that fail by differential expansion. It is in UN 38.3, R100 and most pack specifications.

Use in Lemonergy

Record specimen, state, instrument, temperature and timing.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

References & further reading

Technical references

  1. UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Revision 8

    United Nations Economic Commission for Europe · 2023

    Technical reference · Dangerous-goods classification tests; subsection 38.3 concerns battery transport testing.

  2. Manual of Tests and Criteria, Revision 8, Amendment 1

    United Nations Economic Commission for Europe · 2025

    Technical reference · Amendments to Revision 8, including changes to battery testing in subsection 38.3.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

  1. Battery Test Manual For Electric Vehicles, Revision 3

    Jon P. Christopherson · Idaho National Laboratory · 2015

    Topic background · Performance characterization, pulse resistance/power, life testing and reference performance tests; historical 2015 edition.