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Find NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI reports about batteries and energy storage. Search electrode materials, lithium-ion batteries and storage systems in indexed report metadata.

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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2006

An Update of the Ground Testing of the Li-ion Batteries in Support of JPL's 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission

In early 2004, JPL successfully landed two Rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, on the surface of Mars after traveling > 300 million miles over a 6-7 month period. In order to operate for extended duration (>9 months), both Rovers are equipped with rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, which have enabled operation for over 854 and 834 Sols of operation, respectively, to date. Given that the batteries were required to support the mission for 90 Sols of operation by design, it is significant that the batteries have demonstrated over a nine fold increase in life over mission objectives. In addition to supporting the surface operations in conjunction with a triple-junction deployable solar arrays, the batteries were designed to aid in the launch and the EDL pyros, and allow for anomalies during cruise. In summary, the requirements of the Lithium-ion battery include the ability to provide power at least 90 sols on the surface of Mars, operate over a wide temperature range (-20 C to +30 C), withstand long storage periods (e.g., cruise period), operate in an inverted orientation, and support high current pulses (e.g., firing pyro events). In order to determine the viability of meeting these requirements, ground testing was performed on a Rover Battery Assembly Unit (RBAU), consisting of two 8-cell 10 Ah lithium-ion batteries connected in parallel. The RBAU upon which the performance testing was performed is nearly identical to the batteries incorporated into the two Rovers currently on Mars. The testing includes, (a) performing initial characterization tests (discharge capacity at different temperatures), (b) simulating the launch conditions, (c) simulating the cruise phase conditions (including trajectory correction maneuvers), (d) simulating the entry, decent, and landing (EDL) pulse load profile (required to support the pyros) (e) simulating the Mars surface operation mission simulation conditions, as well as, (f) assessing capacity loss and impedance characteristics as a function of temperature and life. This paper provides further detail to previously reported results1 of the RBAU testing program, especially with regard to the life characteristics. To date, the lithium-ion batteries (fabricated by Lithion/Yardney, Inc.) have been demonstrated to far exceed the requirements defined by the mission, both on Mars and on the ground, and are projected to support an extended mission (> 4 years).

Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Mission↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety (SABERS) Beyond Li-Ion: Technology to Enable Sustainable Electric Aviation

All-electric and hybrid electric aerovehicle concepts face numerous technical barriers prior to their introduction into the consumer marketplace in order to meet sustainable aviation goals. One of the primary barriers to overcome is developing an energy dense storage system capable of meeting the rigorous aerospace safety and performance criteria. Additionally, the electric aviation market requires that the batteries be fabricated in a sustainable manner with materials that are readily available and abundant within the U.S. to ensure there are no supply chain issues during manufacturing. The performance metrics to enable electric aviation are at least two times greater than those of electric ground vehicles. Furthermore, inherently non-flammable batteries are essential for safe operation of commercial electric aerovehicles. The SABERS concept proposes a battery that meets the key performance criteria through development of a solid-state architecture battery utilizing high-capacity sulfur-selenium cathode and lithium metal anode. The combination of sulfur and selenium offers a balanced energy-to-power density ratio, which can be tailored to the specific application by altering the stoichiometric ratios of sulfur to selenium. The hybrid cathode has been developed by implementing NASA patented holey graphene technology as a highly conductive, ultra-lightweight electrode scaffold. A solid-state electrolyte has been used as a safe, non-flammable replacement to the highly flammable liquid organic electrolytes currently used in SOA lithium-ion batteries. This solid-state lithium-sulfur/selenium cell will be designed into a serial stacking configuration to enable dense packaging of the battery cells. The serial stacking configuration is termed a bipolar stack, which has the advantages of reducing overall cell weight, simplifying the interfaced connections for the cell, and minimizing the cooling requirements. Lastly, optimization of battery components will occur through a robust and rigorous combination of various computational modeling techniques covering multiple length scales. The expected result will be a fully solid-state battery with operational temperatures up to 150 °C which provides the required energy density, discharge rates, and inherent safety to meet the strict aerospace mission performance criteria. This poster summarizes recent results from battery component optimization to scale-up production of full SABERS pouch cells.

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Vehicles↗

DOE OSTI2026

Battery Life Prediction Using Reduced-Order Physics Models and Machine Learning (CRADA Final Report)

Phase 1 (Original CRADA, plus no-cost extension modifications #1-3, 6/1/2017 to 3/13/2021): The Australian Department of Defence (AUDoD) is performing accelerated aging tests of Li-ion batteries to benchmark their reliability and degradation characteristics. Using its previously developed battery lifetime predictive model framework, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) will develop analytical models based the AUDoD data to predict lifetime of the multiple Li-ion battery chemistries under real-world use scenarios of interest to AUDoD. The NLR model is based on physical degradation mechanisms encountered by Li-ion batteries and has been previously validated. Phase 2 (CRADA modification #4, plus no-cost extension modification #5, 2/22/2021 to 3/30/2025): Train and support Australian Department of Defence personnel to use NLR software for model-based estimation of Li-ion battery lifetime using accelerated battery aging data collected by the Australian Department of Defence. Under separate DOE funding from 2019 to 2021, NLR enhanced its battery life-prediction software using machine learning algorithms to automate portions of the model-fitting process, requiring significantly less labor and expert judgment and also adding uncertainty quantification, increasing statistical rigor. Under Phase 2, NLR will customize NLR Software and provide it to AuDoD. NLR will enhance its NLR Model to capture aging modes of AuDoD's multi-cell modules, including cell-balancing effects. NLR will develop example single-cell and multi-cell models based on one AuDoD battery aging dataset. NLR will train AuDoD personnel on NLR Software. By the conclusion of the project, NLR will have provided AuDoD the training materials, a user manual and software needed to perform their own analysis of additional and/or future battery aging datasets.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

NASA NTRS2016

International Space Station Lithium-Ion Battery

The International Space Station (ISS) Electric Power System (EPS) currently uses Nickel-Hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries to store electrical energy. The batteries are charged during insolation and discharged during eclipse. The Ni-H2 batteries are designed to operate at a 35 depth of discharge (DOD) maximum during normal operation in a Low Earth Orbit. Since the oldest of the 48 Ni-H2 battery Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) has been cycling since September 2006, these batteries are now approaching their end of useful life. In 2010, the ISS Program began the development of Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries to replace the Ni-H2 batteries and concurrently funded a Li-ion cell life testing project. This paper will include an overview of the ISS Li-Ion battery system architecture and the progress of the Li-ion battery design and development.

Battery↗

NASA NTRS2018

International Space Station Lithium-Ion Battery Status

When originally launched, the International Space Station (ISS) primary Electric Power System (EPS) used Nickel-Hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries to store electrical energy. The electricity for the space station is generated by its solar arrays, which charge batteries during insolation for subsequent discharge during eclipse. The Ni-H2 batteries were designed to operate for ten years at a 35 percent depth of discharge (DOD) maximum during normal operation in a Low Earth Orbit. For service beyond that period, upgraded Li-Ion Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) were designed. These are the largest Li-Ion batteries ever utilized for a human rated spacecraft. With the oldest 12 Ni-H2 battery ORUs cycling since September 2006, the first set of six was replaced by Li-Ion batteries in December 2016; the second set of six is planned for replacement in September 2018. This paper will include an overview of the ISS Li-Ion battery system architecture, on-orbit status of the first 6 batteries, start up of the second 6 batteries, and the status of the Li-Ion cell and ORU life cycle testing.

International Space Station↗

NASA NTRS2023

An Accelerated Life Testing Dataset for Lithium-Ion Batteries With Constant and Variable Loading Conditions

The dataset repository is organized into three main folders, each containing one group of life cycled battery packs. Within each folder individual battery packs own their dedicated csv file for continuous data logging, which are named with their respective battery pack number. The folders are named: - regular_alt_batteries: Containing one csv file for each battery pack cycled at the same load level or load range throughout lifetime - recommissioned_batteries: Containing one csv file for each battery pack cycled at different load levels at varying life stages - second_life_batteries: Containing one csv file for each second life battery pack cycled at constant current througout the second life

Li-ion Battery↗

NASA NTRS1987

International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spacecraft battery performance update

January 26, 1987 marks the ninth inflight aniversary of the IUE spacecraft, launched into an eccentric synchronous orbit. The orbital path has subjected the spacecraft to 18 solar eclipse seasons since launch. Nine years of inflight operations culminate a major milestone for battery support to a spacecraft, which is well in excess of the initial 3 year design life. A brief outline of events, power system characteristics, and papers presented a previous battery workshops are provided. The IUE battery cell performance is excellent with the exception of the third electrode anomaly and temperature delta between batteries. Data indicates that battery depth-of-discharge (DOD) may be more critical to extend battery life than small operational temperature deltas between batteries. It is predicted that several additional years of battery life may be obtained by a reduction in operational battery DOD.

Tiller, Smith E.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Nickel cadmium battery operations on-orbit: Trials, tribulations, and success on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), designed, built, integrated, tested, and operated by NASA and Martin Marietta is a low-Earth orbiting, Earth-observing spacecraft which was launched via Space Shuttle Discovery on September 12, 1991 and deployed three days later. The Modular Power Subsystem (MPS) onboard the satellite is equipped with three NASA Standard 50 Ampere-hour (Ah) nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries. McDonnell Douglas Electronics Systems Company fabricated the MPS, and batteries from Gates Aerospace Batteries cells. Nominal battery performance was achieved for the first four months of spacecraft operation. First evidence of anomalous battery performance was observed in January 1992, after the first maximum beta angle (low Depth of Discharge) period. Since then, the Flight Operations Team (FOT), under the direction of Goddard Space Flight Center's UARS Project and Space Power Application Branch, has monitored and managed battery performance by adjusting solar array offset angle, conducting periodic deep discharge, and controlling battery recharge ratio. This paper covers a brief overview of the UARS, the FOT's operational battery management, and the observed spacecraft battery performance.

Rao, Gopalakrishna M.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Adiabatic charging of nickel-hydrogen batteries

Battery management during prelaunch activities has always required special attention and careful planning. The transition from nickel-cadium to nickel-hydrogen batteries, with their high self discharge rate and lower charge efficiency, as well as longer prelaunch scenarios, has made this aspect of spacecraft battery management even more challenging. The AXAF-I Program requires high battery state of charge at launch. The use of active cooling, to ensure efficient charging, was considered and proved to be difficult and expensive. Alternative approaches were evaluated. Optimized charging, in the absence of cooling, appeared promising and was investigated. Initial testing was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the 'Adiabatic Charging' approach. Feasibility was demonstrated and additional testing performed to provide a quantitative, parametric data base. The assumption that the battery is in an adiabatic environment during prelaunch charging is a conservative approximation because the battery will transfer some heat to its surroundings by convective air cooling. The amount is small compared to the heat dissipated during battery overcharge. Because the battery has a large thermal mass, substantial overcharge can occur before the cells get too hot to charge efficiently. The testing presented here simulates a true adiabatic environment. Accordingly the data base may be slightly conservative. The adiabatic charge methodology used in this investigation begins with stabilizing the cell at a given starting temperature. The cell is then fully insulated on all sides. Battery temperature is carefully monitored and the charge terminated when the cell temperature reaches 85 F. Charging has been evaluated with starting temperatures from 55 to 75 F.

Lurie, Chuck↗

NASA NTRS1995

Alternate charging profiles for the onboard nickel cadmium batteries of the Explorer Platform/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

The Explorer Platform/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EP/EUVE) spacecraft power is provided by the Modular Power Subsystems (MPS) which contains three 50 ampere-hour Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries. The batteries were fabricated by McDonnell Douglas Electronics Systems Company, with the cells fabricated by Gates Aerospace Batteries (GAB), Gainesville, Florida. Shortly following launch, the battery performance characteristics showed similar signatures as the anomalous performance observed on both the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). This prompted the development and implementation of alternate charging profiles to optimize the spacecraft battery performance. The Flight Operations Team (FOT), under the direction of Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) EP/EUVE Project and Space Power Applications Branch have monitored and managed battery performance through control of the battery Charge to Discharge (C/D) ratio and implementation of a Solar Array (SA) offset. This paper provides a brief overview of the EP/EUVE mission, the MPS, the FOT's battery management for achieving the alternate charging profile, and the observed spacecraft battery performance.

Rao, Gopalakrishna M.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Reconditioning of Batteries on the International Space Station

Primary source of electric power for the International Space Station (ISS) is the photovoltaic module (PVM). At assembly complete stage, the ISS will be served by 4 PVMs. Each PVM contains two independent power channels such that one failure will result in loss of only one power channel. During early stages of assembly, the ISS is served by only one PVM designated as P6. Solar arrays are used to convert solar flux into electrical power. Nickel hydrogen batteries are used to store electrical power for use during periods when the solar input is not adequate to support channel loads. Batteries are operated per established procedures that ensure that they are maintained within specified temperature limits, charge current is controlled to conform to a specified charge profile, and battery voltages are maintained within specified limits. Both power channels on the PVM P6 have been operating flawlessly since December 2000 with 100 percent power availability. All components, including batteries, are monitored regularly to ensure that they are operating within specified limits and to trend their wear out and age effects. The paper briefly describes the battery trend data. Batteries have started to show some effects of aging and a battery reconditioning procedure is being evaluated at this time. Reconditioning is expected to reduce cell voltage divergence and provide data that can be used to update the state of charge (SOC) computation in the software to account for battery age. During reconditioning, each battery, one at a time, will be discharged per a specified procedure and then returned to a full state of charge. The paper describes the reconditioning procedure and the expected benefits. The reconditioning procedures have been thoroughly coordinated by all affected technical teams and approved by all required boards. The reconditioning is tentatively scheduled for September 2004.

Hajela, Gyan↗

NASA NTRS2004

Battery Resistance Analysis of ISS Power System

The computer package, SPACE (Systems Power Analysis for Capability Evaluation) was created by the members of LT-9D to perform power analysis and modeling of the electrical power system on the International Space Station (ISS). Written in FORTRAN, SPACE comprises thousands of lines of code and has been used profficiently in analyzing missions to the ISS. LT-9D has also used its expertise recently to investigate the batteries onboard the Hubble telescope. During the summer of 2004, I worked with the members of LT-9D, under the care of Dave McKissock. Solar energy will power the ISS through eight solar arrays when the ISS is completed, although only two arrays are currently connected. During the majority of the periods of sunlight, the solar arrays provide enough energy for the ISS. However, rechargeable Nickel-Hydrogen batteries are used during eclipse periods or at other times when the solar arrays cannot be used (at docking for example, when the arrays are turned so that they will not be damaged by the Shuttle). Thirty-eight battery cells are connected in series, which make up an ORU (Orbital Replacement Unit). An ISS "battery" is composed of two ORUs. a great deal of time into finding the best way to represent them in SPACE. During my internship, I investigated the resistance of the ISS batteries. SPACE constructs plots of battery charge and discharge voltages vs. time using a constant current. To accommodate for a time-varying current, the voltages are adjusted using the formula, DeltaV = DeltaI * Cell Resistance. To enhance our model of the battery resistance, my research concentrated on several topics: investigating the resistance of a qualification unit battery (using data gathered by LORAL), comparing the resistance of the qualification unit to SPACE, looking at the internal resistance and wiring resistance, and examining the impact of possible recommended changes to SPACE. The ISS batteries have been found to be very difficult to model, and LT-9D has dedicated

Newstadt, Gregory E.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Lithium-Ion Polymer Rechargeable Battery Developed for Aerospace and Military Applications

A recently completed 3 -year project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under the Technology Reinvestment Program has resulted in the development and scaleup of new lithium-ion polymer battery technology for military and aerospace applications. The contractors for this cost-shared project were Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space and Ultralife Batteries, Inc. The NASA Lewis Research Center provided contract management and technical oversight. The final products of the project were a portable 15-volt (V), 10-ampere-hour (A-hr) military radio battery and a 30-V, 50-A-hr marine/aerospace battery. Lewis will test the 50-A-hr battery. The new lithium-ion polymer battery technology offers a threefold or fourfold reduction in mass and volume, relative to today s commonly used nickel-cadmium, nickel-hydrogen, and nickel-metal hydride batteries. This is of special importance for orbiting satellites. It has been determined for a particular commercial communications satellite that the replacement of 1 kg of battery mass with 1 kg of transponder mass could increase the annual revenue flow by $100 000! Since this lithium-ion polymer technology offers battery mass reductions on the order of hundreds of kilograms for some satellites, the potential revenue increases are impressive.

Hagedorn, orman H.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Technical Consultation of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Nickel Hydrogen (NiH2) Battery Charge Capacity Prediction

The purpose of the GSFC position paper is to identify critical HST milestone dates for continued science studies followed by the attachment of a re-entry module or a robotic servicing mission. The paper examines the viability of the HST with respect to the NiH2 continued battery charge capacity. In the course of the assessment, it was recognized that the HST battery thermal control system has an average heat dissipation limitation of 30 W per bay per orbit cycle. This thermal constraint will continue to govern options for battery capacity maintenance. In addition, the HST usage represents the longest exposure ofNiH2 batteries to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at the current level of Depth of Discharge (DOD). Finally, the current battery life is at the limit predicted by the manufacturer, Eaglepicher. Therefore, given these factors, the potential exists that the HST battery capacities could radically degrade at any point. Given this caveat on any life extrapolations, the conservative model proposed in the GSFC position paper was viewed by the NESC as having several technical assumptions such as limited utilization of flight battery capacity data, the susceptibility of the proposed prediction method to large variations when supplemented with additional information, and the failure to qualitatively or quantitatively assess life prediction sensitivities. The NESC conducted an independent evaluation of the supporting information and assumptions to generate the predictions for battery capacity loss and practicality of on-orbit battery conditioning.

Gentz, Steven J.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Modular Battery Charge Controller

A new approach to masterless, distributed, digital-charge control for batteries requiring charge control has been developed and implemented. This approach is required in battery chemistries that need cell-level charge control for safety and is characterized by the use of one controller per cell, resulting in redundant sensors for critical components, such as voltage, temperature, and current. The charge controllers in a given battery interact in a masterless fashion for the purpose of cell balancing, charge control, and state-of-charge estimation. This makes the battery system invariably fault-tolerant. The solution to the single-fault failure, due to the use of a single charge controller (CC), was solved by implementing one CC per cell and linking them via an isolated communication bus [e.g., controller area network (CAN)] in a masterless fashion so that the failure of one or more CCs will not impact the remaining functional CCs. Each micro-controller-based CC digitizes the cell voltage (V(sub cell)), two cell temperatures, and the voltage across the switch (V); the latter variable is used in conjunction with V(sub cell) to estimate the bypass current for a given bypass resistor. Furthermore, CC1 digitizes the battery current (I1) and battery voltage (V(sub batt) and CC5 digitizes a second battery current (I2). As a result, redundant readings are taken for temperature, battery current, and battery voltage through the summation of the individual cell voltages given that each CC knows the voltage of the other cells. For the purpose of cell balancing, each CC periodically and independently transmits its cell voltage and stores the received cell voltage of the other cells in an array. The position in the array depends on the identifier (ID) of the transmitting CC. After eight cell voltage receptions, the array is checked to see if one or more cells did not transmit. If one or more transmissions are missing, the missing cell(s) is (are) eliminated from cell-balancing calculations. The cell-balancing algorithm is based on the error between the cell s voltage and the other cells and is categorized into four zones of operation. The algorithm is executed every second and, if cell balancing is activated, the error variable is set to a negative low value. The largest error between the cell and the other cells is found and the zone of operation determined. If the error is zero or negative, then the cell is at the lowest voltage and no balancing action is needed. If the error is less than a predetermined negative value, a Cell Bad Flag is set. If the error is positive, then cell balancing is needed, but a hysteretic zone is added to prevent the bypass circuit from triggering repeatedly near zero error. This approach keeps the cells within a predetermined voltage range.

Button, Robert↗

NASA NTRS2011

Exploring the Model Design Space for Battery Health Management

Battery Health Management (BHM) is a core enabling technology for the success and widespread adoption of the emerging electric vehicles of today. Although battery chemistries have been studied in detail in literature, an accurate run-time battery life prediction algorithm has eluded us. Current reliability-based techniques are insufficient to manage the use of such batteries when they are an active power source with frequently varying loads in uncertain environments. The amount of usable charge of a battery for a given discharge profile is not only dependent on the starting state-of-charge (SOC), but also other factors like battery health and the discharge or load profile imposed. This paper presents a Particle Filter (PF) based BHM framework with plug-and-play modules for battery models and uncertainty management. The batteries are modeled at three different levels of granularity with associated uncertainty distributions, encoding the basic electrochemical processes of a Lithium-polymer battery. The effects of different choices in the model design space are explored in the context of prediction performance in an electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) application with emulated flight profiles.

Saha, Bhaskar↗

NASA NTRS2017

Crewed Space Vehicle Battery Safety Requirements Revision D

The Crewed Space Vehicle Battery Safety Requirements document has been prepared for use by designers of battery-powered vehicles, portable equipment, and experiments intended for crewed spaceflight. The purpose of the requirements document is to provide battery designers with information on design provisions to be incorporated in and around the battery and on the verification to be undertaken to demonstrate a safe battery is provided. The term "safe battery" means that the battery is safe for ground personnel and crew members to handle and use; safe to be used in the enclosed environment of a crewed space vehicle; and safe to be mounted or used in unpressurized spaces adjacent to habitable areas. Battery design review, approval, and certification is required before the batteries can be used for ground operations and be certified for flight.

Russell, Samuel↗

NASA NTRS2018

Simplified Aid for Extra-Vehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) Battery Assessment

In 2013, the Boeing Company model 787-8 Dreamliner commercial aircraft experienced three catastrophic lithium (Li) battery failures. The cause of each failure resulted in a single-cell thermal runaway (TR) condition, which propagated to adjacent battery cells. Two of the failures involved rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries, and the third event involved a nonrechargeable lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2) battery. In response to these Li battery failures, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) approved a technical assessment of the International Space Station Simplified Aid for Extra-Vehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) Li non-rechargeable battery. This assessment was conducted to evaluate the SAFER Li nonrechargeable battery safety design features against Boeing 787 Dreamliner Li battery failure lessons learned. Specifically, this investigation focused on assessing the severity of a SAFER battery TR hazard conditions.

Iannello, Christopher J.↗