A walk-in battery test chamber for EV packs is both an equipment and a facility project. The RFQ needs to describe the pack, representative load, test profile, electrical and cooling interfaces, handling route, and the protective scope for the intended use.
This checklist helps engineering, facilities, QA, and procurement compare the same configuration. Chamber size and a temperature range alone do not establish loaded performance, battery-event suitability, or readiness for installation.
01 Define the pack and the complete handling path
Provide the largest pack and fixture drawings, dimensions, mass, lifting points, orientation, trolley or pallet size, and connector positions. Include the intended pack population and quantity per test. Distinguish future requirements from the load used for acceptance.
Review the route from receiving to the test position: door openings, turning space, ramps, thresholds, lifts, and floor levels. State total supported mass and wheel or point loads for the trolley and fixture. Mark the required connection access and authorized operator workflow on a layout before final quotation.
02 Specify usable workspace and service clearance
Internal volume is not the same as usable test space. Airflow plenums, guards, fixtures, connections, and required clearances reduce the area available to the pack. Ask for a drawing showing the accepted DUT zone, airflow direction, cable and hose routes, door clearance, and service access.
Confirm how the pack is loaded, secured, connected, and removed. Where operator entry is part of setup or maintenance, document the applicable operating restrictions, access arrangements, and emergency egress requirements. The “walk-in” name does not authorize entry during powered testing or an abnormal event.
03 Map cycler, BMS, cooling, and data interfaces
List cycler voltage/current limits, cable sizes, connectors, BMS/CAN communications, voltage taps, temperature sensors, coolant connections, and required safety/status signals. Define which equipment Bellue supplies, which the laboratory supplies, and who integrates and accepts the connections.
Review feedthrough temperature and humidity suitability, insulation, sealing, strain relief, routing, and electrical isolation. Describe liquid-line pressure, flow, temperature, insulation, and leak-management requirements. Include heat released inside the chamber by the DUT, fixtures, and in-chamber connections, with external equipment identified separately.
04 Define measurable performance under load
Supply the temperature profile, occupied workspace, fixture mass, sample quantity, powered heat dissipation over time, room conditions, and operating duty. Define the temperature interval and measurement basis for both heating and cooling ramps, including whether the criterion is average or linear.
Separate chamber-air measurements from DUT measurements. Define sensor positions, stability and spatial uniformity criteria, logging interval, tolerances, and the signal that starts each dwell. State door-opening or profile-change recovery conditions if they matter. Use the loaded ramp rate RFQ guide to prepare those details.
If humidity is required, provide paired temperature/RH operating points and tolerances. Confirm the supported envelope and transition behavior with the supplier; a quoted temperature range and RH range do not establish every possible combination. Include condensation, water quality, and electrical/interface implications in the application review.
05 Determine protection from the actual DUT and method
Environmental exposure, powered cycling, and intentional abuse impose different duties, but a routine-test label does not eliminate battery-event risk. Document chemistry, stored energy, voltage, state of charge, specimen condition, test purpose, and foreseeable failures with the responsible safety team.
Specify protective functions, operating limits, and facility responsibilities for the offered configuration. Where relevant, review gas, fire, pressure, and fragment hazards together with doors, ports, windows, seals, discharge routing, and connected equipment. Detection, ventilation, or pressure relief alone does not prove containment of an unspecified pack event.
Review the complete configuration. A product name such as “explosion-proof,” a list of safety options, or an upgrade quotation is not proof of protection for a future duty. Any later change in DUT energy, method, ports, interfaces, or protective systems needs review and acceptance before use.
Define the response to trigger/cycler faults and the interface with facility systems. External electrical isolation does not remove energy stored in the battery or necessarily stop thermal runaway. Include remote observation and authorized post-event monitoring, access, sample handling, and recovery criteria where required.
06 Bring facilities into the quotation
Provide available electrical supply and capacity, room conditions, heat rejection constraints, water, air, drains, ventilation/discharge arrangements, floor loading, service clearances, and the installation route. Identify applicable local requirements and the parties responsible for site approval.
Request a responsibility matrix for chamber supply, wiring, ducting, structural work, utilities, rigging, assembly, commissioning, training, and ongoing service. For international projects, state shipment dimensions, unloading and lifting needs, contractor scope, and required manuals or drawings.
07 Agree FAT, SAT, and evidence boundaries
Define factory and site acceptance conditions before order placement. State whether the representative load is the actual pack, a thermal surrogate, a dimensional mockup, or another agreed load. A dimensional mockup can check clearance and routing; it does not prove loaded thermal performance or battery-event protection.
Agree performance profiles, instruments, calibration, reports, control/alarm checks, communications, and deviation handling. Approved simulations can verify functional sequences and interfaces. They do not by themselves establish containment under a destructive event, qualify the DUT, or certify compliance with all referenced standards.
Keep unresolved site interfaces and protective evidence separate from completed checks. Release to operation should follow the agreed installation, training, and authorized-use requirements.
08 Compare quotations with the same RFQ inputs
| RFQ area | Comparison requirement | Buyer input |
|---|---|---|
| Handling and workspace | Accepted DUT zone, total load, concentrated floor loads, access, and service clearance | Pack/fixture/trolley drawings and complete installation route |
| Interfaces | Cycler, BMS, cooling, DAQ, and control responsibility boundaries | Connection list, electrical limits, cable/hose details, and signal requirements |
| Loaded performance | Heating/cooling profile, sensors, dwell, tolerances, and humidity envelope if required | Representative thermal load, heat dissipation, profile, and measurement plan |
| Protection | Defined DUT/event limits and evidence for the complete proposed configuration | Hazard assessment, protective functions, facility interfaces, and authorized-use scope |
| Acceptance and delivery | FAT/SAT evidence, open items, documentation, installation and training responsibilities | Accepted load or simulation, pass/fail criteria, schedule, and responsibility matrix |
09 Prepare the supplier checklist and a mock test day
- Required standards/customer procedures, editions, profiles, cycle counts, and approved deviations.
- DUT and fixture envelope, mass, energy, operating state, connections, and handling route.
- Representative load, powered heat dissipation, sensors, temperature/RH points, timing, and tolerances.
- Safety scope, complete-configuration evidence, facility interfaces, and recovery responsibilities.
- Utilities, layout, delivery, assembly, FAT/SAT, training, manuals, calibration and maintenance scope.
Walk through arrival, loading, connection, pre-start checks, profile execution, alarm response, monitoring, and unloading with the project team. Use the exercise to resolve missing clearances or interfaces. Compare supplier assumptions and exclusions explicitly rather than leaving accessories or site work outside the pricing comparison.
10 Review the quotation with Bellue
Start with walk-in test chamber planning and the battery test chamber hub. If the duty includes deliberate failure events, review protected walk-in equipment against the required event envelope and evidence.
Send Bellue the DUT drawings, profile, hazard assumptions, layout, and utilities. Ask the proposal to identify included equipment, customer-supplied interfaces, guaranteed conditions, acceptance scope, protective limits, and exclusions before final supplier selection.
Further technical context
- ESPEC — battery testing chamber safety options. Manufacturer examples need configuration review; they are not Bellue protection ratings.
- UL Solutions — electric and hybrid vehicle battery services. Test and certification scope should be agreed with the responsible organization.