Patent ID: 7845232

Claim:
An apparatus for determining the service life of an electrochemical energy device test object comprising: a plurality of ultrasonic transmitting and receiving ultrasonic probes, said probes being preferably arrayed in pairs, with one probe of each pair placed on one side of a test object while the other probe of the same pair is placed directly opposite the said one probe on the opposite side of said test object; means for matching an acoustic resistance of the probes with the test object; means for positioning the transmitting and the receiving probes relative to each other; means for measuring a test object thickness; means for alignment of the probes of the receiving array; means for measuring an amplitude of the ultrasonic pulse that passed through the test object, for each pair of the transmitting and receiving probes, the amplitude being normalized to the test object thickness; means for comparing normalized signals of the receiving probes to one another and selecting the pairs of the transmitting and receiving probe pairs that perform scanning of a test object operating region; means for performing calibration; means for bringing an operational state of said test object being tested to correspondence with a calibrating value; means for analyzing and averaging the normalized signals from the receiving probes; means for using the analyzed and averaged signals produced by said receiving probes for determining the remaining lifetime of said electrochemical energy device test object.