Session: 01-16-02: Congress-Wide Symposium on NDE & SHM: Ultrasonic Waves for Material Characterization and Damage Assessment

Paper Number: 113961

113961 - Development of a Non-Destructive Ultrasonic Technique for In-Situ Battery Health Monitoring 

Abstract:

An in-situ structural health monitoring technique for the safe operation of Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB) using Rayleigh-Lamb wave is reported herein. LIBs are essential to many modern technologies, from portable devices to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems. In particular, powering rapidly growing electric vehicles (EV) is a prime focus for the next-generation transportation industry. While these batteries are important because of their high energy density, long cycle life, fast charging, low self-discharge rate, and environmental friendliness, they also come with safety concerns and fire hazards. LIBS consists of hazardous materials, including lithium compounds and flammable electrolytes, which can result in exothermic reactions and thermal runway due to collision or damage, external or internal short-circuit, overcharging, over-discharging, and intensive heat generation. Even though a lithium-ion battery is an electrochemical device, its structural integrity must be maintained for its safe operation. Whenever a LIB operates outside of its safe operating limits, the structural integrity gets disrupted, and the battery’s performance drops significantly. This can lead to associated challenges such as a rise in internal resistance or temperature during battery operation which may eventually lead to the thermal runway if precautionary steps are not integrated within its safety management system. While the battery management systems can take care of some preventive measures, such as overcharge/discharge protection, an effective in-situ sensing system to monitor battery internal structures is non-existent. While X-ray tomography, Neutron imaging and electron microscopy can provide internal images, these off-situ techniques are nonconventional to integrate with the battery safety management system. To circumvent these issues a non-destructive ultrasonic guided wave-based acoustic technique is experimentally developed in this study. In particular, the surface temperature and the core temperature of LIBs are estimated. Two types of LIBs are considered to have two different types of cathode materials: LiNiMnCo and LiFePO4. The test batteries are subjected to different C-rates for charging and discharging. Piezoelectric materials are placed on the surface of the LIB and utilizing tone burst excitation signals pitch-catch experiments are performed. The acquired signal received from the sensors are correlated with the c-rate, temperature, and charging status. The same process is carried out with externally short-circuited and impact conditions. By analyzing the acoustic signals in both the time domain and frequency domain, it is observed that there exists a relation between non-damaged and damaged LIBs. The proposed battery health monitoring technique presents a promising solution for mitigating the safety concerns of LIBs. The technique detects abnormal temperature rises in LIBs which are often indicators of internal damage. Using this technique, a comprehensive and reliable safety monitoring solution for LIBs can be integrated into the battery management system.

Presenting Author: Md Arif Iqbal Khan Georgia Southern University

Presenting Author Biography: Md Arif Iqbal Khan completed his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Southern University. His primary research interests include thermocrystals, thermal metamaterials, energy harvesting, additive manufacturing, etc.

Authors:

Md Rakib Hossen Georgia Southern University
Hossain Ahmed Georgia Southern University
Asef Ishraq Sadaf Georgia Southern University
Md Arif Iqbal Khan Georgia Southern University
Grant Bennett Georgia Southern University
Rajib Mahamud Idaho State University