Loraine Torres-Castro
Physicist, Battery Safety Lead
Biography
Loraine joined Sandia in 2016 to conduct research and development into the safety and reliability of batteries under abusive conditions. The abuse testing work Loraine conducts evaluates batteries well outside of manufacturer recommended specifications and the severity of any catastrophic thermal runaway. Her work in the Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory is focused on understanding the mechanisms that lead to energy storage system safety incidents, and developing mitigation strategies for single-cell and system failures. Loraine has innovated abuse testing by targeting problems using a predictive approach (early detection for intervention) to eliminate failure rather than reacting to it. Her work has led to developments on advanced abuse testing, including a fundamental understanding of cell failure to facilitate the design of safer energy storage systems. Her expertise and commitment to safety science have led to multiple cross-collaborations among sponsoring organizations, including the Department of Energy (Office of Electricity and the Vehicle Technologies Office), Department of Transportation, and NASA. On behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office, her team developed and maintains the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) Battery Abuse Testing Manual, widely used by car manufacturers to evaluate new technologies. Loraine is also a member of the USABC, for which she provides technical advice and recommendations. She is recognized as a battery safety expert, as demonstrated by invited talks and high visibility of peer-reviewed publications. In addition, Loraine actively mentors underrepresented groups on energy storage challenges and professional leadership both in English and Spanish at the University of Puerto Rico, her alma mater.
Education
- Ph.D. in Chemical Physics, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, 2016
- B.S. in Physics, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, 2010
Google Scholar
Publications
Alex Bates, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Katharine Harrison, Stephen Harris, John Hewson, (2022). Are solid-state batteries safer than lithium-ion batteries? Joule https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2022.02.007 Publication ID: 80504
Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2022). United States Advanced Battery Consortium Battery Abuse Testing Manual for Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Applications https://doi.org/10.2172/1838583 Publication ID: 79899
Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Taina Rauhala, Judith Jeevarajan, (2022). Perspective – On the Safety of Aged Lithium-Ion Batteries Journal of the Electrochemical Society https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac53cc Publication ID: 80483
Alex Bates, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Katharine Harrison, Stephen Harris, John Hewson, (2021). Safety Impacts of Liquid Electrolyte Inclusion in Solid State Batteries https://doi.org/10.2172/1899474 Publication ID: 76876
Alex Bates, Jill Langendorf, Joshua Lamb, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, (2021). Thermal Stability of Solid-State Battery Components with Liquid Electrolyte https://doi.org/10.2172/1894759 Publication ID: 76463
Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, John Hewson, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2021). Battery failure propagation and mitigation: models to understand the problem and sensitivities https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1884900 Publication ID: 75447
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, John Hewson, Randy Shurtz, Yuliya Preger, (2021). Investigating the Role of Energy Density in Thermal Runaway of Lithium-Ion Batteries with Accelerating Rate Calorimetry Journal of the Electrochemical Society https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac0699 Publication ID: 78773
Joshua Lamb, Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, John Hewson, Yuliya Preger, (2021). Evaluating the impact of energy density on thermal runaway https://doi.org/10.2172/1869553 Publication ID: 78554
John Hewson, Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2021). Modeling and analysis of battery safety https://doi.org/10.2172/1884102 Publication ID: 78197
Andrew Kurzawski, John Hewson, Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2021). Battery failure propagation: models to understand the problem and sensitivities https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1844058 Publication ID: 75389
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2021). Mitigation of Failure Propagation: A Model-Based Experimental Design https://doi.org/10.2172/1847231 Publication ID: 77303
Andrew Kurzawski, Loraine Torres-Castro, Randy Shurtz, Joshua Lamb, John Hewson, (2021). Predicting cell-to-cell failure propagation and limits of propagation in lithium-ion cell stacks Proceedings of the Combustion Institute https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2020.06.270 Publication ID: 74838
Andrew Kurzawski, Loraine Torres-Castro, Randy Shurtz, Joshua Lamb, John Hewson, (2020). Predicting cell-to-cell failure propagation and limits of propagation in lithium-ion cell stacks https://doi.org/10.2172/1835977 Publication ID: 72211
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Christopher Grosso, Lucas Gray, (2020). Alternative battery Failure Initiation https://doi.org/10.2172/1831373 Publication ID: 71727
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Yuliya Preger, John Hewson, Randy Shurtz, Jill Langendorf, (2020). Accelerating Rate Calorimetry of Large Format Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1822287 Publication ID: 70922
Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Andrew Kurzawski, John Hewson, (2020). Predicting Thermal Responses for Actively Cooled Designs Following Thermal Runaway https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1822289 Publication ID: 70924
Randy Shurtz, John Hewson, Andrew Kurzawski, Loraine Torres-Castro, (2020). Material Science-Based Predictions of Single-Cell Thermal Failures https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1822291 Publication ID: 70926
John Hewson, Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2020). Thermal Analysis to Mitigate Cascading Propagation of Lithium-ion Cell Stacks https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1822652 Publication ID: 70996
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2020). Mitigation of Failure Propagation Through Active Cooling: A Model-Based Experimental Design https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1820901 Publication ID: 74846
Yuliya Preger, Reed Wittman, Armando Fresquez, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2020). Long-term Performance and Safety of Commercial Li-ion Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1821102 Publication ID: 74885
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2020). Materials Characterization of Abused Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1821313 Publication ID: 74914
John Hewson, Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2020). Toward predicting trends in propagating failure and its mitigation for a lithium-ion cell stack https://doi.org/10.2172/1824733 Publication ID: 71104
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, Lucas Gray, (2020). Evaluation of Multi-cell Failure Propagation https://doi.org/10.2172/1605985 Publication ID: 72938
Yuliya Preger, Heather Barkholtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Sergei Ivanov, Armando Fresquez, Jill Langendorf, Summer Ferreira, Babu Chalamala, (2020). Performance and Safety of Commercial Li-ion Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1764778 Publication ID: 72421
Loraine Torres-Castro, Andrew Kurzawski, John Hewson, Joshua Lamb, (2020). Passive Mitigation of Cascading Propagation in Multi-Cell Lithium Ion Batteries Journal of the Electrochemical Society https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ab84fa Publication ID: 73270
Randy Shurtz, Andrew Kurzawski, John Hewson, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, (2019). Evaluating Safety Characteristics of Lithium-Ion Battery Systems Through Cascading Thermal Runaway Experiments and Modeling https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1643422 Publication ID: 66820
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Understanding the factors impacting battery failure propagation and its mitigation https://doi.org/10.1149/MA2020-01199mtgabs Publication ID: 66608
Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, John Hewson, (2019). Predicting limits of cascading failure of thermal runaway in stacks of Li-ion pouch cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1642902 Publication ID: 65639
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Investigations of the structural and electrochemical properties of overheated Li-ion batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1642928 Publication ID: 65647
Brian Perdue, Mohan Karulkar, Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Annual BTMS Testing Section (SNL) https://doi.org/10.2172/1570097 Publication ID: 65485
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Mitigation of Failure Propagation in Multi-Cell Lithium-ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1642178 Publication ID: 65047
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Mechanisms and Materials Impact of Abused Li-ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1642184 Publication ID: 65048
Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, John Hewson, (2019). Predicting Limits of Cascading Failure of Thermal Runaway in Stacks of Li-Ion Pouch Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1641959 Publication ID: 64828
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Abuse Test Development: Mechanisms and Materials Impact of Abused Lithium-ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1643648 Publication ID: 65140
Heather Barkholtz, Yuliya Preger, Sergei Ivanov, Jill Langendorf, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Babu Chalamala, Summer Ferreira, (2019). Multi-scale thermal stability study of commercial lithium-ion batteries as a function of chemistry and state-of-charge https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.226777 Publication ID: 64990
John Hewson, Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Summer Ferreira, (2019). Predicting and Mitigating Cascading Failure in Stacks of Lithium-Ion Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1668920 Publication ID: 65251
Andrew Kurzawski, Randy Shurtz, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, John Hewson, (2019). Predicting and Mitigating Cascading Failure of Thermal Runaway in Stacks of Li-Ion Pouch Cells https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1641889 Publication ID: 64679
Eric Deichmann, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Mohan Karulkar, Christopher Grosso, Jill Langendorf, Lucas Gray, June Stanley, (2019). Degradation Mechanisms of Overcharged Li-ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1640108 Publication ID: 68674
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, June Stanley, Mohan Karulkar, Christopher Grosso, Lucas Gray, Randi Poirier, (2019). Scaling Accelerating Rate Calorimetry Results https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1640176 Publication ID: 68787
Mohan Karulkar, Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). High Precision Characterization of Li-Ion Batteries during Extreme Fast Charging https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1640186 Publication ID: 68799
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Mechanisms and Material Impacts of Overcharge in Lithium Ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1640188 Publication ID: 68802
Summer Ferreira, Heather Barkholtz, Yuliya Preger, Jill Langendorf, Loraine Torres-Castro, Babu Chalamala, Joshua Lamb, (2019). Thermal stability study of commercial lithium-ion batteries as a function of cathode chemistry and state-of-charge https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1640189 Publication ID: 68803
Randy Shurtz, Andrew Kurzawski, Loraine Torres-Castro, Yuliya Preger, Summer Ferreira, (2019). Approaches and Considerations for Thermal Abuse Studies of Lithium-Ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1645316 Publication ID: 68808
Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Determination of battery state of stability through advanced diagnostics https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1598931 Publication ID: 65604
Randy Shurtz, Yuliya Preger, Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, John Hewson, Summer Ferreira, (2019). From calorimetry measurements to furthering mechanistic understanding and control of thermal abuse in lithium-ion cells Journal of the Electrochemical Society https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0341912jes Publication ID: 69639
Eric Deichmann, Loraine Torres-Castro, (2019). Battery Abuse Laboratory Operations https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1592267 Publication ID: 64286
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, Lucas Gray, Mohan Karulkar, (2018). Evaluating the Impact of Initiation Methods on Propagating Thermal Runaway in Lithium-Ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1806858 Publication ID: 60070
Yuliya Preger, Heather Barkholtz, Armando Fresquez, Frank Mier, Loraine Torres-Castro, Jill Langendorf, Joshua Lamb, Babu Chalamala, Summer Ferreira, (2018). Comprehensive Study of Commercial Lithium-Ion Cell Aging Behavior and Abuse Response https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1593044 Publication ID: 59826
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Summer Ferreira, John Hewson, (2018). Battery Abuse Test Development https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1594645 Publication ID: 59323
Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Mohan Karulkar, Christopher Grosso, Jill Langendorf, Lucas Gray, June Stanley, (2018). Degradation Mechanisms of Overcharged Li-ion Batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1806814 Publication ID: 59021
Mohan Karulkar, Joshua Lamb, Christopher Orendorff, Loraine Torres-Castro, Christopher Grosso, June Stanley, Leigh Steele, (2018). Abuse Testing Overview and Analysis of Lithium Ion Fast Charge https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1583054 Publication ID: 63923
Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Mohan Karulkar, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, (2018). Using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Differential Capacity (DC) Analysis Techniques to Determine the State of Health (SoH) of Active Load Battery Systems https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1890358 Publication ID: 63295
Joshua Lamb, Mohan Karulkar, Loraine Torres-Castro, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, Leigh Steele, (2018). Battery Safety and Abuse Testing https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1648652 Publication ID: 61963
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Mohan Karulkar, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, (2018). Abuse Testing to Understand High Energy Battery Failure https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1524820 Publication ID: 62330
Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Mohan Karulkar, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, (2018). Investigations of the structural and electrochemical properties of overcharged Li-ion batteries https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1515626 Publication ID: 62151
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Mohan Karulkar, June Stanley, Christopher Grosso, (2018). Examining and Controlling the Behavior of Thermal Runaway in Multi Cell Systems https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1515730 Publication ID: 62169
Summer Ferreira, Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Heather Barkholtz, John Hewson, (2018). Battery Failure from a Materials Electrochemical and Thermal Modeling Perspective https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1497559 Publication ID: 60814
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Leigh Steele, Christopher Grosso, Genaro Quintana, June Stanley, Summer Ferreira, John Hewson, (2017). Electrochemical Abuse Testing https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1510399 Publication ID: 53462
Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, Genaro Quintana, Christopher Grosso, June Stanley, (2017). Comparison of Propagation Mitigation Techniques and Strategies https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1474219 Publication ID: 53111
Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, June Stanley, Loraine Torres-Castro, Christopher Grosso, Genaro Quintana, (2017). Development of a propagating battery failure test https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1471812 Publication ID: 58502
Joshua Lamb, Loraine Torres-Castro, Christopher Orendorff, Eric Dufek, Lee Walker, Chinh Ho, (2017). Determination of battery stability with advanced diagnostics https://doi.org/10.2172/1369526 Publication ID: 57174
Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, June Stanley, Loraine Torres-Castro, Christopher Grosso, Genaro Quintana, (2017). Thermal Runaway Propagation Testing https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1458396 Publication ID: 57011
Loraine Torres-Castro, Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, Genaro Quintana, Christopher Grosso, June Stanley, Christopher Orendorff, (2017). Partial Battery Abuse Tests to Determine Battery Stability with Advanced Diagnostics https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1458140 Publication ID: 56625
Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, June Stanley, Loraine Torres-Castro, Genaro Quintana, Christopher Grosso, Christopher Orendorff, (2017). Alternative Battery Failure Initiation https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1458101 Publication ID: 56647
Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, Loraine Torres-Castro, Christopher Orendorff, Christopher Grosso, Genaro Quintana, (2017). Understanding and Detecting Catastrophic Battery Failure https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1457942 Publication ID: 56258
Joshua Lamb, Leigh Steele, Loraine Torres-Castro, John Hewson, Summer Ferreira, (2017). Battery Safety Testing https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1425306 Publication ID: 55056
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