Katie Abbott
Hazardous Materials Scientist
Katie joined the Hazardous Materials team in HSE's Science
Division in June 2020 after graduating from the University of
Sheffield with a master's degree in Materials Science and
Engineering.
Katie has spent most of her time working on lithium-ion battery
safety projects. These projects subject lithium-ion cells to a
selection of abuse tests to understand their behaviour outside of
their normal operating window; this work is then used to inform the
HSE and industry on the potential health and safety risks. The
results are also being used to explore potential methods to
mitigate, supress or prevent these failure events from
occurring.
An integral part of Katie's role is designing and building
bespoke experimental test rigs to support the development of future
research. Notably, Katie has just recently finished designing a
nail penetration unit to investigate how lithium-ion cells behave
when punctured. Lithium-ion battery technology is an essential
component to Net Zero, and Katie has been at the forefront of
research looking at the health and safety impacts of this new
technology.
Research Interests
- Lithium-ion batteries
- Net-Zero
- Hydrogen
- Additive manufacturing
Previous Projects
-
LIBRIS (Lithium-ion Battery Research in Safety) project: £6.8m
project funded by the Faraday Battery Challenge
-
Real-time gas analysis of lithium-ion cells: to determine the
gas composition of failing lithium-ion cells as it varies over the
course of cell failure
-
Investigating resonant acoustic mixing and additive
manufacturing within the explosive sector
Notable Achievements
- Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining with
ProfGradIMMM status, with an overall aim to become chartered in the
next 5 years
- Presenter at Hazards 31 on how lithium-ion cell failure varies
in open field
- Katie's work has prompted further research projects, which will
investigate the projectile-like behaviour of lithium-ion cells
Further Information
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