Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “battery performance”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

A Segregated Approach for Modeling the Electrochemistry in the 3-D Microstructure of Li-Ion Batteries and Its Acceleration Using Block Preconditioners

Abstract Battery performance is strongly correlated with electrode microstructure. Electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries have complex microstructure geometries that require millions of degrees of freedom to solve the electrochemical system at the microstructure scale. A fast-iterative solver with an appropriate preconditioner is then required to simulate large representative volume in a reasonable time. In this work, a finite element electrochemical model is developed to resolve the concentration and potential within the electrode active materials and the electrolyte domains at the microstructure scale, with an emphasis on numerical stability and scaling performances. The block Gauss-Seidel (BGS) numerical method is implemented because the system of equations within the electrodes is coupled only through the nonlinear Butler–Volmer equation, which governs the electrochemical reaction at the interface between the domains. The best solution strategy found in this work consists of splitting the system into two blocks—one for the concentration and one for the potential field—and then performing block generalized minimal residual preconditioned with algebraic multigrid, using the FEniCS and the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation libraries. Significant improvements in terms of time to solution (six times faster) and memory usage (halving) are achieved compared with the MUltifrontal Massively Parallel sparse direct Solver. Additionally, BGS experiences decent strong parallel scaling within the electrode domains. Last, the system of equations is modified to specifically address numerical instability induced by electrolyte depletion, which is particularly valuable for simulating fast-charge scenarios relevant for automotive application.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1982

RCA SATCOM in-orbit experience: An update

The SATCOM in-orbit battery performance was evaluated. The capacitance and constant current charge rates for each of the three batteries were monitored. A typical eclipse discharge profile was generated and attendant reconditioning recharge conditions were considered. Battery temperatures, pressures, and average battery voltages are presented in tabular form. In-orbit data from monitoring the end of discharge voltage during eclipses, a key performance parameter, are also given.

Stewart, D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Battery Research & Development Overview

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is engaged in various efforts to address shortcomings in energy storage technologies. Batteries remain one of the most reliable, portable methods to provide power where traditional methods are unavailable. Given the types of niche missions NASA performs, batteries must be capable of surviving and performing in widely different environments. This seminar will discuss ongoing efforts across the NASA centers, ranging from low-level materials development through testing for space and aeronautics missions.

Cody O'Meara↗
DOE OSTI2026

A technoeconomic analysis of poly- and single-crystalline NMCxyz from material synthesis to battery pack design

A process model was developed for estimating the cost of manufacturing lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 , NMCxyz), the main cathode active material in lithium-ion batteries used for electric vehicles in the United States. The model was used to estimate the prices of NMC622, NMC811, and NMC955 with poly- and single-crystalline morphologies. The Battery Performance and Cost Model (BatPaC) was used to translate the NMC prices into battery pack prices. A decrease in cobalt content from NMC622 (20% Co) to NMC955 (5% Ni) decreases the material price by $\$$0.85/kg (−3%) due to a decrease in the cost of battery materials, which account for >60% of the total price. NMC622 only produce cheaper packs if the nickel sulfate cost is > 4 × its baseline, indicating higher nickel materials will lower pack cost under normal market conditions. Single-crystalline materials are $\$$2/kg (+8%) more expensive than their polycrystalline counterparts due to higher manufacturing costs from longer, hotter calcinations in less densely packed saggars. This increases the pack price by ∼$\$$3/kWh, assuming identical electrochemical properties. In conclusion, the single-crystalline materials could yield cheaper packs if cycled to higher upper cutoff voltages (i.e., 4.35 to 4.43 V for the single-crystalline material vs. 4.25 V for their polycrystalline counterparts).

Cost modeling↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spatially Resolved Potential and Li-Ion Distributions Reveal Performance-Limiting Regions in Solid-State Batteries

The performance of solid-state electrochemical systems is intimately tied to the potential and lithium distributions across electrolyte–electrode junctions that give rise to interface impedance. Here, we combine two operando methods, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and neutron depth profiling (NDP), to identify the rate-limiting interface in operating Si-LiPON-LiCoO 2 solid-state batteries by mapping the contact potential difference (CPD) and the corresponding Li distributions. The contributions from ions, electrons, and interfaces are deconvolved by correlating the CPD profiles with Li-concentration profiles and by comparisons with first-principles-informed modeling. Furthermore, we find that the largest potential drop and variation in the Li concentration occur at the anode–electrolyte interface, with a smaller drop at the cathode–electrolyte interface and a shallow gradient within the bulk electrolyte. Correlating these results with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy following battery cycling at low and high rates confirms a long-standing conjecture linking large potential drops with a rate-limiting interfacial process.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1986

Controlled impact demonstration on-board (interior) photographic system

Langley Research Center (LaRC) was responsible for the design, manufacture, and integration of all hardware required for the photographic system used to film the interior of the controlled impact demonstration (CID) B-720 aircraft during actual crash conditions. Four independent power supplies were constructed to operate the ten high-speed 16 mm cameras and twenty-four floodlights. An up-link command system, furnished by Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility (ADFRF), was necessary to activate the power supplies and start the cameras. These events were accomplished by initiation of relays located on each of the photo power pallets. The photographic system performed beyond expectations. All four power distribution pallets with their 20 year old Minuteman batteries performed flawlessly. All 24 lamps worked. All ten on-board high speed (400 fps) 16 mm cameras containing good resolution film data were recovered.

May, C. J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

In operando neutron imaging characterizations of all-solid-state batteries

The surge in electric vehicle demand has propagated the extensive application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in recent years. Gaining significant traction due to their promising high-energy density and elevated safety over traditional LIBs, all-solid-state Li batteries (ASLBs) have nonetheless been faced with hurdles relating to battery performance. These include concerns with interfacial compatibility, structural stability, Li dendrite inhibition, and large-scale manufacturing. To tackle these issues, it is necessary to employ advanced characterization methods to comprehend the intrinsic mechanisms within ASLBs. In this article, we advocate for the use of neutron imaging as a nondestructive approach for the operando visualization of ASLBs. We draw comparisons with other operando visualization strategies, underline the benefits of neutron imaging, and discuss its potential applicability in the scrutiny of all-solid-state Li metal batteries and all-solid-state Li-sulfur batteries. Neutron imaging provides valuable insights into the dynamics of Li concentration, reaction mechanisms, and transport constraints in ASLBs. These insights are pivotal in contributing to the evolution of high-performance all-solid-state batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enabling fast charging of lithium-ion batteries through secondary- /dual- pore network: Part I - Analytical diffusion model

Battery performance is strongly correlated with electrode microstructural properties. Enabling fast charging of lithium-ion batteries requires improved through-plane ionic diffusion that can be achieved through, among other strategies, structured electrodes with a secondary- or dual-pore network (SPN). In this work, an analytical model investigates the impact of such an SPN on ionic diffusion with a composite electrode, considering various pore-channel geometries and comparing to standard electrodes with identical gravimetric- and volumetric-specific theoretical capacities. Relevant SPN design parameters and tortuosity coefficients are identified according to three optimization objectives that aim to balance the improved overall through-plane diffusion, thanks to the coarse aligned channels, and degraded in-plane diffusion because of the porous matrix densification required to maintain gravimetric- and volumetric-specific theoretical capacities. The model indicates that a relatively low amount of SPN is required and that electrodes with high through-plane tortuosity and low in-plane tortuosity benefit most from such architecture.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cost Competitive Process of Battery Grade Oxides Preparation from Aged LIBS

The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs ) is driving development of advanced recycling and refining methods. In this project, new cathode active materials are prepared from recycled lithium battery materials and subsequently electrochemically evaluated in coin cells. In detail, scrap LIBs were mechanically processed into a metal rich black mass, then reductive acid leached into an aqueous metal solution, and finally high-purity metal hydroxide precursor materials were prepared by selective electrochemical flow precipitation. Closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials will enable US manufacturers to break their reliance on foreign sources of critical materials. For example, electroextraction process used here has potential to significantly reduce chemical & water use as compared to traditional metallurgic techniques. To this end, electroextracted materials refined from used batteries were collected and processed to be tested as precursor cathode active material (pCam).During this project ,samples of high-purity recycled NMC hydroxide (~2kg each) were received from Nth Cycle. In the first received batch some impurities like cadmium, calcium, and sodium are present in quantities that would negatively impact battery performance. Nth Cycle indicated that the impurities such as cadmium are present due to poor battery separation and co-shredding of NiCd batteries with with LIB. Cadmium was not present in the two subsequent batches as Nth Cycle processed cadmium free black mass. Thus, effective recycled battery sorting is critical to closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cost Competitive Process of Battery Grade Oxides Preparation from Aged LIBS

The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is driving development of advanced recycling and refining methods. In this project, new cathode active materials are prepared from recycled lithium battery materials and subsequently electrochemically evaluated in coin cells. In detail, scrap LIBs were mechanically processed into a metal rich black mass, then reductive acid leached into an aqueous metal solution, and finally high-purity metal hydroxide precursor materials were prepared by selective electrochemical flow precipitation. Closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials will enable US manufacturers to break their reliance on foreign sources of critical materials. For example, electroextraction process used here has potential to significantly reduce chemical & water use as compared to traditional metallurgic techniques. To this end, electroextracted materials refined from used batteries were collected and processed to be tested as precursor cathode active material (pCam). During this project , samples of high-purity recycled NMC hydroxide (~2 kg each) were received from Nth Cycle. In the first received batch some impurities like cadmium, calcium, and sodium are present in quantities that would negatively impact battery performance. Nth Cycle indicated that the impurities such as cadmium are present due to poor battery separation and co-shredding of NiCd batteries with with LIB. Cadmium was not present in the two subsequent batches as Nth Cycle processed cadmium free black mass. Thus, effective recycled battery sorting is critical to closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Li-Ion Battery Thermal Characterization for Thermal Management Design

Battery design efforts often prioritize enhancing the energy density of the active materials and their utilization. However, optimizing thermal management systems at both the cell and pack levels is also key to achieving mission-relevant battery design. Battery thermal management systems, responsible for managing the thermal profile of battery cells, are crucial for balancing the trade-offs between battery performance and lifetime. Designing such systems requires accounting for the multitude of heat sources within battery cells and packs. This paper provides a summary of heat generation characterizations observed in several commercial Li-ion battery cells using isothermal battery calorimetry. The primary focus is on assessing the impact of temperatures, C-rates, and formation cycles. Moreover, a module-level characterization demonstrated the significant additional heat generated by module interconnects. Characterizing heat signatures at each level helps inform manufacturing at the design, production, and characterization phases that might otherwise go unaccounted for at the full pack level. Further testing of a 5 kWh battery pack revealed that a considerable temperature non-uniformity may arise due to inefficient cooling arrangements. To mitigate this type of challenge, a combined thermal characterization and multi-domain modeling approach is proposed, offering a solution without the need for constructing a costly module prototype.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1984

Degradation in nickel-cadmium cells studied by impedance measurements

The impedance characteristics of various Ni-Cd cells were measured at different times during accelerated charge/discharge trials to identify characteristics indicative of cell lifetime and cycle history. The tests were performed as part of an attempt to develop nondestructive testing techniques to detect flaws in batteries installed on low-earth orbit satellites. Trials consisted of 60 min charging and 40 min discharging, covering 20, 30, and 40 C temperatures, 20, 35, and 50 percent depth of discharge, and the average cycle life. No correlations were derived between impedance characteristics and cycle life. Other possible techniques for evaluating predictors of battery performance are discussed.

Haak, R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Development of new sealed bipolar lead-acid battery

New light weight composite bipolar plates which can withstand the corrosive environment of the lead acid battery have made possible the construction of a sealed bipolar lead acid battery that promises to achieve very high specific power levels and substantially higher energy densities than conventional lead acid batteries. Performance projections based on preliminary experimental results show that the peak specific power of the battery can be as high as 90 kW/kg, and that a specific power of 5 kW/kg can be sustained over several thousand pulses.

Attia, Alan I.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The development of a new sealed bipolar lead-acid battery

New light weight composite bipolar plates which can withstand the corrosive environment of the lead acid battery have made possible the construction of a sealed bipolar lead acid battery that promises to achieve very high specific power levels and substantially higher energy densities than conventional lead acid batteries. Performance projections based on preliminary experimental results show that the peak specific power of the battery can be as high as 90 kW/kg, and that a specific power of 5 kW/kg can be sustained over several thousand pulses.

Attia, A. I.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Advanced battery modeling for interfacial phenomena and optimal charging

Lithium ion batteries are one of the most promising energy storage systems for portable devices, transportation, and renewable grids. To meet the increasing requirements of these applications, higher energy density and areal capacity, long cycle life, fast charging rate and enhanced safety for lithium ion battery (LIBs) are urgently needed. To solve these challenges, the relevant physics at different length scale need to be understood. However, experimental study is time consuming and limited in small scale’s study. Modeling techniques provide us powerful tools to get a deep understanding of the relevant physics and find optimal solutions. This work focuses on studying the mechanism in advanced battery engineering techniques and developing a new charging algorithm by model-based optimization. The research topics are divided into six topics and each topic is reported as a form of journal publication. Paper Ⅰ provides a new aspect of how ALD coating improves the lithium ion diffusion at electrode particles. Paper Ⅱ explains the mechanisms by which 3D electrodes enhance battery performance and reveals guidelines for optimized 3D electrode designs by a 3D electrochemical-mechanical battery model. Paper Ⅲ investigates the electrolyte concentration impact on SEI layer growth and Li plating, especially under high charge rates. Paper Ⅳ proposes an optimized charging protocol for fast charging for reducing the charging time with minimal degradation. Paper Ⅴ reports a comprehensive degradation model for degradation estimation and life predication of energy storage system (ESS). Paper Ⅵ is a study of temperature-dependent state of charge (SOC) estimation for battery pack.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

MATBOX, an Open-Source Microstructure Analysis Toolbox for Meshing, Generation, Segmentation, and Characterization of 3D Heterogenous Volumes

Battery performance is strongly correlated with electrode microstructural properties. To account for its impact, lithium-ion battery (LIB) models either abstract the microstructural heterogeneity of composite electrodes using effective macroscopic properties (macro- or meso- scale models) or directly solve the system of equations on the microstructure geometry or mesh (microstructure-scale models). Therefore, to be adequate, both families of models require information from the microstructure geometry, which can be provided by the numerical tool presented in this work. MATBOX is a MATLAB open-source application [1] developed by NREL for performing various microstructure-related tasks including microstructure numerical generation, image filtering and microstructure segmentation, microstructure characterization and correlation, visualization, and microstructure meshing. MATBOX was originally developed for the analysis of LIB electrode microstructures; however, the algorithms provided by the toolbox are widely applicable to other heterogeneous materials. The toolbox provides a user-friendly experience thanks to a Graphical-User Interface, requires no coding by the user, and is well documented. This presentation will illustrate various MATBOX features for the characterization of a LIB electrode, including a fully automated Representative Volume Element (RVE) analysis, the numerical generation of complex 'virtual' microstructure, including dual-layer electrodes and carbon-binder additive phase, and the meshing of a complex NMC/graphite full cell microstructure suitable for 3D finite-element modeling. Other modules (segmentation, visualization, and correlation) will be briefly presented. Thanks to its modular, open-source approach, MATBOX can easily incorporate third-party algorithms to eventually build a standard in the field that will benefit the whole scientific community. Effective diffusion coefficient [2], additive phase numerical generation [3], and meshing [4] third-party algorithms have been already integrated in the toolbox with more to come.

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION,MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Cost Competitive Process of Battery Grade Oxides Preparation from Aged LIBs

The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is driving development of advanced recycling and refining methods. In this project, new cathode active materials are prepared from recycled lithium battery materials and subsequently electrochemically evaluated in coin cells. In detail, scrap LIBs were mechanically processed into a metal rich black mass, then reductive acid leached into an aqueous metal solution, and finally high-purity metal hydroxide precursor materials were prepared by selective electrochemical flow precipitation. Closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials will enable US manufacturers to break their reliance on foreign sources of critical materials. For example, electroextraction process used here has potential to significantly reduce chemical & water use as well as waste production as compared to traditional metallurgic techniques. To this end, electroextracted materials refined from used batteries were collected and processed to be tested as precursor cathode active material (pCAM). For this project, two samples of high purity recycled NMC hydroxide (~1 kg each) were received from N th Cycle’s Ohio demonstration facility. The NMC compositions of the two materials are similar, and the levels of impurities have been confirmed. Indeed, impurities like copper, boron and sodium are present in quantities that could negatively impact battery performance. However, some studies have demonstrated that the control of the quantity of elements like copper or boron may improve the electrochemistry properties of Lithium-NMC batteries. The principal objective is to determine the electrochemical performance of these 2 NMC hydroxide batches and clearly determine the effect of the impurities on the performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Life‐Cycle Assessment Considerations for Batteries and Battery Materials

Abstract Rechargeable batteries are necessary for the decarbonization of the energy systems, but life‐cycle environmental impact assessments have not achieved consensus on the environmental impacts of producing these batteries. Nonetheless, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool to inform the development of better‐performing batteries with reduced environmental burden. This review explores common practices in lithium‐ion battery LCAs and makes recommendations for how future studies can be more interpretable, representative, and impactful. First, LCAs should focus analyses of resource depletion on long‐term trends toward more energy and resource‐intensive material extraction and processing rather than treating known reserves as a fixed quantity being depleted. Second, future studies should account for extraction and processing operations that deviate from industry best‐practices and may be responsible for an outsized share of sector‐wide impacts, such as artisanal cobalt mining. Third, LCAs should explore at least 2–3 battery manufacturing facility scales to capture size‐ and throughput‐dependent impacts such as dry room conditioning and solvent recovery. Finally, future LCAs must transition away from kg of battery mass as a functional unit and instead make use of kWh of storage capacity and kWh of lifetime energy throughput.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗