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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.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program Energy Storage Project Battery Technology Development

Technical Interchange Meeting was held at Saft America s Research and Development facility in Cockeysville, Maryland on Sept 28th-29th, 2010. The meeting was attended by Saft, contractors who are developing battery component materials under contracts awarded through a NASA Research Announcement (NRA), and NASA. This briefing presents an overview of the components being developed by the contractor attendees for the NASA s High Energy (HE) and Ultra High Energy (UHE) cells. The transition of the advanced lithium-ion cell development project at NASA from the Exploration Technology Development Program Energy Storage Project to the Enabling Technology Development and Demonstration High Efficiency Space Power Systems Project, changes to deliverable hardware and schedule due to a reduced budget, and our roadmap to develop cells and provide periodic off-ramps for cell technology for demonstrations are discussed. This meeting gave the materials and cell developers the opportunity to discuss the intricacies of their materials and determine strategies to address any particulars of the technology.

Reid, Concha M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Investigation of metal hydride materials as hydrogen reservoirs for metal-hydrogen batteries

The performance and suitability of various metal hydride materials were examined for use as possible hydrogen storage reservoirs for secondary metal-hydrogen batteries. Lanthanum pentanickel hydride appears as a probable candidate in terms of stable hydrogen supply under feasible thermal conditions. A kinetic model describing the decomposition rate data of the hydride has been developed.

ONISCHAK↗
NASA NTRS1991

Lightweight Fibrous Ni Electrodes For Ni/H2 Batteries

Fibrous nickel plaque electrode material reduces weight of nickel/hydrogen batteries by 40 percent. Discharge voltage and discharge time of fibrous electrode greater than those of equivalent standard sintered-powder electrode. Expected to lead to improvements in performances, increases in energy densities, and decreases in costs of nickel electrodes.

Britton, Doris L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Making More Efficient Use Of Battery-Plate Mass

Improved active material for positive plate of lead/acid electric storage battery made with additional porosity to give electrolyte access to larger plate-surface area. 65 to 68 percent of active mass of plate used to generate electric current. Batteries with new plate material offer extremely long cycle life.

Rowlette, John J.↗
NASA NTRS2009

A Study on Advanced Lithium-Based Battery Cell Chemistries to Enhance Lunar Exploration Missions

NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) Energy Storage Project conducted an advanced lithium-based battery chemistry feasibility study to determine the best advanced chemistry to develop for the Altair lunar lander and the Extravehicular Activities (EVA) advanced lunar surface spacesuit. These customers require safe, reliable energy storage systems with extremely high specific energy as compared to today's state-of-the-art batteries. Based on customer requirements, the specific energy goals for the development project are 220 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) delivered at the battery level at 0 degrees Celsius (degrees Celcius) at a C/10 discharge rate. Continuous discharge rates between C/5 and C/2, operation over 0 to 30 degrees C, and 200 cycles are targeted. The team, consisting of members from NASA Glenn Research Center, Johnson Space Center, and Jet Propulsion laboratory, surveyed the literature, compiled information on recent materials developments, and consulted with other battery experts in the community to identify advanced battery materials that might be capable of achieving the desired results with further development. A variety of electrode materials were considered, including layered metal oxides, spinel oxides, and olivine-type cathode materials, and lithium metal, lithium alloy, and silicon-based composite anode materials. lithium-sulfur systems were also considered. Hypothetical cell constructs that combined compatible anode and cathode materials with suitable electrolytes, separators, current collectors, headers, and cell enclosures were modeled. While some of these advanced materials are projected to obtain the desired electrical performance, there are risks that also factored into the decision making process. The risks include uncertainties due to issues such as safety of a system containing some of these materials, ease of scaling-up of large batches of raw materials, adaptability of the materials to processing using established or reasonable cost manufacturing techniques, manufacturability of the materials in dimensions required for integration into battery cells of practical capacities, low Technology Readiness levels (TRl), and the ability to achieve the desired performance by the customer need dates. The advanced cell chemistry options were evaluated with respect to multiple quantitative and qualitative attributes while considering their projected performance at the end of the available development timeframe. Following a rigorous ranking process, a chemistry that combines a lithiated nickel manganese cobalt oxide (lithium NMC) cathode with a silicon-based composite anode was selected as the technology that can offer the best combination of safety, specific energy, energy density, and likelihood of success. Tasks over the next three years will focus on development of electrode materials, compatible electrolytes, and separator materials, and integration of promising components to assess their combined performance in working cells. Cells of the chosen chemistry will be developed to TRl 6 by 2014 and will then be transferred to the customers for infusion into their mission paths.

Reid, Concha↗
NASA NTRS1966

Sterilizable battery

Development program for separator and modified polyethylene separator material for silver-zinc battery, and program for development of sealed heat sterilizable batteries

MATERIAL TESTING↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thin-Film Embedded Sensors for Battery Health Monitoring

Hybrid or all-electric aircraft are being developed as the next generation of aircraft to both allow new forms of aviation and decrease environmental impact. Since these types of aircraft are based on high-capacity battery technology, safe operation of these batteries becomes increasingly important. In particular, the potential for battery failure due to uncontrolled chemical reactions resulting in thermal runaway, catastrophic failure, and battery fires must be addressed in order for such battery technology to have the level of safety needed for standard aviation implementation. Efforts to ensure battery safety often involve engineering solutions that seek to contain rather than prevent such events by early detection. Such approaches increase the system weight and decrease the power per unit mass provided by the battery system. Existing methods for measuring battery parameters to determine the battery state-of-health are limited. These methods include electrical measurements of the cell current and/or voltage output as well as temperature measurements taken externally on the cell surface. Such external temperature measurements are limited in their ability to provide early warning of impending battery failure. In response, an effort to develop sensors operating internal to battery for health monitoring has been ongoing in the NASA Sensor-based Prognostics to Avoid Runaway Reactions & Catastrophic Ignition (SPARRCI) project. The basic approach associated with this sensor work is the deposition of thin film sensors on the battery separator located between the anode and cathode of the battery. These thin film sensors are then monitored to determine changes in battery parameters and health. Microfabrication techniques are employed to minimize the overall impact of the sensors on battery operation through the implementation of sensors with minimal size, weight, and power consumption. The thickness of the films, which are fabricated through physical vapor deposition (sputtering), are on the order of thousands of angstroms and can have minimal surface area. Thin film sensors for system health management have been implemented for a many decades on complex components for aerospace applications. However, the application of thin films of this type on a battery separator for internal battery monitoring applications has not previously been demonstrated to our knowledge. This paper describes the development of sensors for the internal battery monitoring through the use of thin film sensor technology. Thin metal films were successfully deposited on a battery separator polymer material with good adherence and electrical continuity. Multiple types of sensors have been deposited, as well as lead connections from the sensor to the edge of the separator material. The ability of these thin film sensors immersed in electrolyte to perform multiple types of battery parameter measurements has been demonstrated. For example, a multiparameter sensor system measured multiple properties simultaneously inside of a pouch cell over a wide temperature range. Further, real time measurement of interior temperature changes in a battery pouch cell with an integrated interior temperature sensor was demonstrated. These changes include detecting a fault in the battery (shorting) in situ with rapid response time (less than a minute) corresponding to a more limited response by a temperature sensor mounted externally. Other aspects of monitoring battery health were also explored, such as real-time measurement of simulated dendrite growth/metal deposition by sensor on separator material demonstrated. Future efforts will include improvements in the durability of the sensor structure to allow introduction of the approach into standard battery fabrication techniques. Overall, this work is a step forward in providing a method to prevent catastrophic battery failures and provide a foundation for safer, lighter, and higher energy batteries for the electric aircraft industry.

thin film battery health↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Use of Pristine and Intercalated Graphite Fiber Composites as Buss Bars in Lead-Acid Batteries

This study was conducted as a part of the Firefly Energy Space Act Agreement project to investigate the possible use of composite materials in lead acid batteries. Specifically, it examined the use of intercalated graphite composites as buss bars. Currently, buss bars of these batteries are made of lead, a material that is problematic for several reasons. Over time, the lead is subject to both corrosion at the positive plate and sulfation at the negative plate, resulting in decreased battery life. In addition, the weight and size of the lead buss bars make for a heavy and cumbersome battery that is undesirable. Functionality and practicality of lead buss bars is adequate at best; consequently, investigation of more efficient composite materials would be advantageous. Practically speaking, graphite composites have a low density that is nearly one fourth that of its lead counterpart. A battery made of less dense materials would be more attractive to the consumer and the producer because it would be light and convenient. More importantly, low weight would be especially beneficial because it would result in greater overall power density of the battery. In addition to power density, use of graphite composite materials can also increase the life of the battery. From a functional standpoint, corrosion and sulfation at the positive and negative plates are major obstacles when considering how to extend battery life. Neither of these reactions are a factor when graphite composites replace lead parts because graphite is chemically non-reactive with the electrolyte within the battery. Without the problem of corrosion or sulfation, battery life expectancy can be almost doubled. The replacement of lead battery parts with composite materials is also more environmentally favorable because of easy disposal of organic materials. For this study, both pristine and bromine intercalated single-ply graphite fiber composites were created. The composites were fabricated in such a way as to facilitate their use in a 3" x 1/2" buss bar test cell. The prime objective of this investigation was to examine the effectiveness of a variety of graphite composite materials to act as buss bars and carry the current to and from the positive and negative battery plates. This energy transfer can be maximized by use of materials with high conductivity to minimize the buss resistance. Electrical conductivity of composites was measured using both a contactless eddy current probe and a four point measurement. In addition, the stability of these materials at battery-use conditions was characterized.

Opaluch, Amanda M.↗
NASA NTRS1974

An evaluation of potentially useful separator materials for nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd] satellite batteries

An evaluation intended to determine the potential suitability and probable efficacy of a group of separator materials for use in nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) satellite batteries was carried out. These results were obtained using test procedures established in an earlier evaluation of other separator materials, some of which were used in experimental battery cells subjected to simulated use conditions. The properties that appear to be most important are: high electrolyte absorptivity, good electrolyte retention, low specific resistivity, rapid wettability and low resistance to air permeation. Wicking characteristics and wet-out time seem to be more important with respect to the initial filling of the battery with the electrolyte.

Baker, H. A.↗
NASA NTRS1970

1970 NASA/GSFC Battery Workshop

NASA/GSFC workshop on materials processing, chemical analysis, cell processing, and testing of batteries for aerospace applications

Source record↗