Researchers investigate effect of impact on structurally-embedded Li-ion batteries
20 August 2023
Researchers in China are investigating the effect of low-velocity impact loads on structurally embedded Li-ion batteries in vehicles. A paper on their study is published in the Journal of Power Sources.
Li et al.
The integration of energy storage and load bearing in composite structures provides an alternative ideal solution for the next generation of delivery equipment due to its potential in improving energy storage efficiency and space utilization significantly. However, the susceptibility to impact during services makes it necessary to understand the damage and performance degradation of this multifunctional composite structure and its interaction behavior under impact loads to ensure structural integrity and safety behavior.
This study realized the embedded design of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) into the composite structure and investigated the mechanical-electrochemical coupling behavior of composites-LIB integrated multifunctional sandwich composite structure under low-velocity impact loads.
—Li et al.
The researchers found that embedded batteries experienced micro short circuits during impact-loading process and kept good energy-storage capacity after transient impact.
Charge-discharge cycling tests results indicated that abrupt capacity loss increased with impact energy, and the degradation rate rapidly deteriorated under high impact energy.
Post-mortem inspection revealed that the damage and densification of active materials and separator contributed to the abrupt capacity loss and performance degradation.
Resources
Honggang Li, Dian Zhou, Junchao Cao, Zhihao Li, Chao Zhang (2023) “On the damage and performance degradation of multifunctional sandwich structure embedded with lithium-ion batteries under impact loading,” Journal of Power Sources, Volume 581 doi: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2023.233509
The average life of cars in the US is going down, not up. Systems integration like this in a desperate attempt to increase energy density are making things worse.
Posted by: Davemart | 20 August 2023 at 12:56 AM
Are you sure about that? I did a quick search and found articles that suggest the opposite. Average age is going up, lifespan is going up, and scrapage is down. The average age of EVs is going down, but that's because of huge growth in that segment: there are many more new EVs than old EVs.
Of course, some of those numbers are due to recent events. New cars were in short supply for the past few years, and more Americans buy used cars.
On the other hand, cars seem to last a lot longer now. Rust isn't as much of an issue, electronic engine managements is more reliable than points and carburettors (and hundreds of vacuum hoses), and diagnosis is much easier with OBD-2. Modern cars can tell you exactly what's wrong with them, which is a lot easier than trying to figure-out why your engine misfires on rainy days...
Posted by: Bernard | 21 August 2023 at 08:13 AM