SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
The following topics are covered in viewgraph format: electrochemically deposited electrodes; electrode development and production; electrochemical characterization and electrode stress tests; sintering process; cell design and assembly; and separator qualification program.
Advanced lithium (Li) batteries using gaseous cathode reactants such as oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2)are attractive energy storage platforms because the gases are obtained externally and thus not accounted for in the total battery weight when fully charged.The discharge products at the cathode, typically Li2O2 for Li-O2 batteries and Li2CO3 for Li-CO2 batteries, are insoluble in the electrolyte.Therefore, in order for such batteries to function properly, an “air cathode”,which is a conductive scaffold within the battery cell,is required as a physical location for cathode electrochemical reactions to occur. Prior research has identified many carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene as viable choices for air cathode scaffold, while various metallic and metal-free catalytic systems integrated onto carbon-based air cathodes have been developed to improve the sluggish discharge and charge reactions. For future practical applications, the air cathode must exhibit a usable capacity per unit electrode area, or areal capacity, a critical parameter that has been largely overlooked so far in this field. In order to achieve high areal capacity, the air cathode must exhibit a sufficient amount of accessible void volume per unit electrode area while maintaining the conductive scaffold integrity during the entire electrochemical process. Here we present an ultrathick,holey graphene-based air cathode platform fabricated from a facile dry compression process that exhibits remarkable areal capacity values. Holey graphene is a carbon nanomaterial derived from graphene, but with nanometer sized holes through the nanosheet thickness.The presence of these holes enhances mass transport through electrode thickness and also enables the unique dry-press fabrication process that is not achievable using other carbon scaffold materials.The dry-pressed holey graphene air cathode platform is not only compatible with catalyst incorporation to improve battery reaction kinetics, but also allows for novel engineering of electrode architectures that is not achievable using conventional electrode fabrication approaches.The applications of such highly versatile, ultrahigh areal capacity air cathode platforms to both Li-O2 and Li-CO2 battery chemistries will be discussed.
High energy density primary batteries for space flight applications - electrolyte systems, cell systems, and positive electrode construction
Polypyrrole is an attractive polymer for use as a high-energy-density secondary battery because of its potential as an inexpensive, lightweight, and noncorrosive electrode material. A mathematical model to simulate cyclic voltammograms for polypyrrole is presented. The model is for a conductive porous electrode film on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) and is used to predict the spatial and time dependence of concentration, overpotential, and stored charge profiles within a polypyrrole film. The model includes both faradic and capacitance charge components in the total current density expression.
Polypyrrole is an attractive polymer for use as a high-energy-density secondary battery because of its potential as an inexpensive, lightweight, and noncorrosive electrode material. A mathematical model to simulate cyclic voltammograms for polypyrrole is presented. The model is for a conductive porous electrode film on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) and is used to predict the spatial and time dependence of concentration, overpotential, and stored charge profiles within a polypyrrole film. The model includes both faradic and capacitance charge components in the total current density expression.
Topics considered include: Battery design, cell design, the 'VHS' type design, positive and negative electrodes, separator, electrolite, life test, performance test, accelerated cycle test.
An engineering discipline denoted as hybrid power management (HPM) has emerged from continuing efforts to increase energy efficiency and reliability of hybrid power systems. HPM is oriented toward integration of diverse electric energy-generating, energy-storing, and energy-consuming devices in optimal configurations for both terrestrial and outer-space applications. The basic concepts of HPM are potentially applicable at power levels ranging from nanowatts to megawatts. Potential applications include terrestrial power-generation, terrestrial transportation, biotechnology, and outer-space power systems. Instances of this discipline at prior stages of development were reported (though not explicitly labeled as HPM) in three prior NASA Tech Briefs articles: "Ultracapacitors Store Energy in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle"(LEW-16876), Vol. 24, No. 4 (April 2000), page 63; "Photovoltaic Power Station With Ultracapacitors for Storage" (LEW-17177), Vol. 27, No. 8 (August 2003), page 38; and "Flasher Powered by Photovoltaic Cells and Ultracapacitors" (LEW-17246), Vol. 24, No. 10 (October 2003), page 37. As the titles of the cited articles indicate, the use of ultracapacitors as energy-storage devices lies at the heart of HPM. An ultracapacitor is an electrochemical energy-storage device, but unlike in a conventional rechargeable electrochemical cell or battery, chemical reactions do not take place during operation. Instead, energy is stored electrostatically at an electrode/electrolyte interface. The capacitance per unit volume of an ultracapacitor is much greater than that of a conventional capacitor because its electrodes have much greater surface area per unit volume and the separation between the electrodes is much smaller. Power-control circuits for ultracapacitors can be simpler than those for batteries, for two reasons: (1) Because of the absence of chemical reactions, charge and discharge currents can be greater than those in batteries, limited only by the electrical resistances of conductors; and (2) whereas the charge level of a battery depends on voltage, temperature, age, and load condition, the charge level of an ultracapacitor, like that of a conventional capacitor, depends only on voltage.
opics covered include: Integrated Electrode Arrays for Neuro-Prosthetic Implants; Eroding Potentiometers; Common/Dependent-Pressure-Vessel Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries; 120-GHz HEMT Oscillator With Surface-Wave-Assisted Antenna; 80-GHz MMIC HEMT Voltage-Controlled Oscillator; High-Energy-Density Capacitors; Microscale Thermal-Transpiration Gas Pump; Instrument for Measuring Temperature of Water; Improved Measurement of Coherence in Presence of Instrument Noise; Compact Instruments Measure Helium-Leak Rates; Irreversible Entropy Production in Two-Phase Mixing Layers; Subsonic and Supersonic Effects in Bose-Einstein Condensate; Nanolaminate Mirrors With "Piston" Figure-Control Actuators; Mixed Conducting Electrodes for Better AMTEC Cells; Process for Encapsulating Protein Crystals; Lightweight, Self-Deployable Wheels; Grease-Resistant O Rings for Joints in Solid Rocket Motors; LabVIEW Serial Driver Software for an Electronic Load; Software Computes Tape-Casting Parameters; Software for Tracking Costs of Mars Projects; Software for Replicating Data Between X.500 and LDAP Directories; The Technical Work Plan Tracking Tool; Improved Multiple-DOF SAW Piezoelectric Motors; Propulsion Flight-Test Fixture; Mechanical Amplifier for a Piezoelectric Transducer; Swell Sleeves for Testing Explosive Devices; Linear Back-Drive Differentials; Miniature Inchworm Actuators Fabricated by Use of LIGA; Using ERF Devices to Control Deployments of Space Structures; High-Temperature Switched-Reluctance Electric Motor; System for Centering a Turbofan in a Nacelle During Tests; Fabricating Composite-Material Structures Containing SMA Ribbons; Optimal Feedback Control of Thermal Networks; Artifacts for Calibration of Submicron Width Measurements; Navigating a Mobile Robot Across Terrain Using Fuzzy Logic; Designing Facilities for Collaborative Operations; and Quantitating Iron in Serum Ferritin by Use of ICP-MS.
The bibliography contains citations concerning applications of metal-air batteries. Topics include systems that possess different practical energy densities at specific powers. Coverage includes the operation of air electrodes at different densities and performance results. The systems are used in electric vehicles as a cost-effective method to achieve reliability and efficiency. Zinc-air batteries are covered more thoroughly in a separate bibliography. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)
Electric aircraft propulsion has gained a traction over the last decade due to possible high-energy density electrochemistries with reasonable cycle life and identification of non-flammable chemistries that can guarantee much better safety. Commercial Li-ion batteries cannot reach such high capacities because of weight limitations that arise from the widely used intercalation electrodes. Also, use of organic electrolytes make them highly susceptible to fire on exposure to air and humidity. Currently, use of Lithium metal anode along with conversion electrochemistries such as Li-O2 and Li-S are being pursued to achieve such high energy densities. Safer inorganic solid-state electrolytes, recently discovered Water-in-Salt electrolytes, molten salt electrolytes are some of the alternatives being pursued for a safer/non-flammable battery. Of these safer alternatives, molten-salt electrolytes offer some attractive properties: liquid at operating temperatures resulting in better electrode-wetting, stable interface with Li-metal anodes and good ionic conductivity; their only drawback being high operating temperatures. In this talk, we will discuss some of the computational studies, driven via atomistic simulations, of the properties of molten-salt electrolytes including transport mechanism and interface stability. We will also discuss predicting electrochemical properties of these high-temperature electrolytes. Further, we will discuss a thermodynamic approach to predicting new molten-salt eutectics with lower melting points.
A review of our studies on the elucidation of the self-discharge mechanism of the Ni/H2 battery and methods to inhibit this phenomena is presented. The results show that (1) the rate of heat generation from nickel hydroxide powders and from electrodes increases with increase of hydrogen pressure, simultaneously, the open-circuit potential of the nickel hydroxide electrode is shifted in a negative direction more rapidly, indicating the transformation of NiOOH to Ni(OH)2; (2) heat generation rates measured in the microcalorimeter are considerably faster for electrolyte starved electrodes than for electrolyte-flooded electrodes; (3) there is a good correlation between the extent of self-discharge, as determined by heat generation in microcalorimetric measurement and capacity change; and (4) the self-discharge in Ni/H2 battery occurs via direct reduction of the active material by pressurized hydrogen. The addition of cadmium to the electrode reduces the self-discharge.
Acceptance test data included: voltage profiles; pressure increase or decrease; and response of the third electrode cell. A softening of the voltage profile was revealed, as well as a lowering of the discharge profile and a 10 percent loss of capacity over a 0 to 20 C temperature range.
A metal-hydrogen cell is described which avoids damage and retards flooding of the hydrogen electrodes by providing for chemical recombination of oxygen and hydrogen in areas or sites remote from the hydrogen electrodes. In the metal-hydrogen cell, a plurality of electrical cell units are place in a back to back relationship. The cells may be lined with a wick, having one or more catalyzed sites on the inner surface of the cell. Separators disposed between the respective metal and hydrogen electrodes of each cell unit are provided with gas directing notches around their peripheries to facilitate the desired movement of gasses within the metal-hydrogen cell. Any two metal electrodes separated by a gas screen are provided with gas tight sealing means between the electrodes at each aperature. The sealing means may be a fing of rubber or elastomeric material which is somewhat compressible but nonreactive with other materials in the cell.
The subjects covered include: lithium cell technology and safety improvements; nickel-cadmium separator and electrode technology along with associated modifications; flight experience and life testing of nickel-cadmium cell; and nickel-hydrogen applications and technology.
The charge efficiency of nickel-cadmium and nickel-hydrogen battery cells is critical in spacecraft applications for determining the amount of time required for a battery to reach a full state of charge. As the nickel-cadmium or nickel-hydrogen batteries approach about 90 percent state of charge, the charge efficiency begins to drop towards zero, making estimation of the total amount of stored charge uncertain. Charge efficiency estimates are typically based on prior history of available capacity following standardized conditions for charge and discharge. These methods work well as long as performance does not change significantly. A relatively simple method for determining charge efficiencies during real time operation for these battery cells would be a tremendous advantage. Such a method was explored and appears to be quite well suited for application to nickel-cadmium and nickel-hydrogen battery cells. The charge efficiency is monitored in real time, using only voltage measurements as inputs. With further evaluation such a method may provide a means to better manage charge control of batteries, particularly in systems where a high degree of autonomy or system intelligence is required.
Solid-state batteries are anext-generation technology that could featureimproved safety and energy density, but reliably integrating high-capacity electrode materials to enable high energy while retaining stablelong-termcycling remains a challenge. Anode materials that alloy with lithium, such as silicon, tin, and aluminum,offer high capacity that canyield high-energy battery cells. The use of alloy anodes in solid-state batteries potentially offers major mechanistic benefits compared to other anode contendersand battery systems, such as lithium metal in solid-state architectures or alloys in liquid-electrolyte batteries. This perspective discusseskey advantagesof alloy anode materials for solid-state batteries, including the avoidance of the short circuiting observed with lithium metal and the chemo-mechanical stabilization of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). We further discuss open research questions and challenges in engineering alloy-anode-based solid-state batteries, with the goal of advancing our understanding and control of alloy anode materialswithin solid-state architectures toward commercial application.
This paper summarizes reasons for and benefits of reconditioning nickel-hydrogen (NiH2) batteries used for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) applications. NiH2 battery cells do not have the classic discharge voltage problems more commonly associated with nickel-cadmium (NiCd) cells. This is due, in part, to use of hydrogen electrodes in place of cadmium electrodes. The nickel electrode, however, does have a similar discharge voltage signature for both cell designs. This can have an impact on LEO applications where peak loads at higher relative depths of discharge can impact operations. Periodic reconditioning provides information which can be used for analyzing long term performance trends to predict usable capacity to a specified voltage level. The reconditioning process described herein involves discharging NiH2 batteries at C/20 rates or less, to an average cell voltage of 1.0 volts or less. Recharge is performed at nominal C/5 rates to specified voltage/temperature (V/T) charge levels selected to restore required capacity with minimal overcharge. Reconditioning is a process of restoring reserve capacity lost on cycling, which is commonly called the memory effect in NiCd cells. This effect is characterized by decreases in the discharge voltage curve with operational life and cycling. The end effect of reconditioning NiH2 cells may be hidden in the versatility, of that design over the NiCd cell design and its associated negative electrode fading problem. The process of deep discharge at lower rates by way of reconditioning tends to redistribute electrolyte and water in the NiH2 cell electrode stack, while improving utilization and charge efficiency. NiH2 battery reconditioning effects on life are considered beneficial and may, in fact. extend life based on NiCd experience. In any case, usable capacity data obtained from reconditioning is required for performance evaluation and trend analysis. Characterization and life tests have provided the historical data base used to determine the need for reconditioning in most battery applications. The following sections briefly describe the background of NiH2 battery reconditioning and testing at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space (LMMS) and other aerospace companies.
Measuring conductivity, freezing point, and volt-ampere characteristics of halide melts for battery feasibility