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'LG G6 batteries never explode under harsh environment,' says LG

'LG G6 batteries never explode under harsh environment,' says LG

Posted March. 27, 2017 07:10,   

Updated March. 27, 2017 07:18

한국어
LG Electronics has unusually opened the entire process of battery safety eval‎uation and quality test, and the production line of its new flagship phone LG G6. The company aims to bring up its sales volume by stressing the quality safety of the phone. Having started its domestic sales on March 10, the LG G6 is now up for the battle against Samsung Galaxy S8, which begins its domestic pre-orders on April 7.

A multi-functional manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province that the company revealed on Friday, LG Digital Park is a core production post for LG’s smartphones. An average of 50,000 units of the G6 are produced every day.

“Smartphone batteries are like bombs on the go. Well-designed batteries never explode under strong impact or high temperature,” LG’s senior researcher Kim Seong-woo stressed the safety of LG's products, showing the battery that was folded in half after it was hit by a heavy object weighting 9.1 kilograms on the 15.8 mm-diameter metal bar. Kim is leading the “battery eval‎uation lab” that verifies the safety of smartphone battery.

Hit by the object, the battery made deafening noise but neither smoke nor sparks was caused. “When hit by outside impact, battery’s inner structure changes which could trigger heat or fire,” Kim explained. "Completely preventing this process from occurring is the technology only LG has.

LG is said to conduct some 20 tests to validate battery safety. Inside the equipment that looked like an electronic oven was a fully-charged battery being heated. The test was designed to see if the battery doesn’t blow up for 20 minutes after it was heated up to the temperature of 130 degrees Celsius which has been gone up by 5-7 degrees Celsius per minute. The situation was assumed the worst scenario when a user starts a microwave without knowing that the phone was left inside. Other types of tests include piercing with sharp nails, putting strong pressure or even throwing into the flame to see how batteries react in forced firing. It is also observed whether the debris from an exploding battery penetrate thin wire mesh within a meter.

A “hard training” is conducted for its battery under five categories where the battery is placed under environment with different factors such as current, heat and impact, each of which test takes some 5,000 hours. The battery is soaked in salt water for four days and dried. It is placed in 1.5-meter-deep water for half an hour. It has to pass a series of drop test from 1-meter high square-shaped box.

“The G6 is the product that demonstrates LG’s philosophy to put the quality first,” said Lee Seok-jong, chief of LG's Mobile Communication Division. The company plans to launch the G6 in the U.S. market, the fiercest battlefield for smartphone, on April 7th (local time).



Dong-Il Seo dong@donga.com