Performance of Conventional and Structural Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract: Lithium-ion batteries have, in recent years, experienced a rapid development from small everyday devices towards hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. Due to this shift in application area, the battery performance andits degradation with time are becoming increasingly important issues to besolved.In this thesis, lithium-ion batteries are investigated with focus on lifetime performance of an existing battery chemistry, and development of electrodes for so-called structural batteries. The systems are evaluated by electrochemical methods, such as cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS),combined with material characterization and modeling.Lifetime performance of mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB)/LiFePO4 cells was investigated to develop an understanding of how this technology tolerates and is influenced by different conditions, such as cycling, storage and temperature.The lifetime of the LiFePO4-based cells was found to be significantly reduced by cycling at elevated temperature, almost five times shorter compared to cycle-aged cells at ambient temperature. The calendar-aged cells also showed major signs of degradation at elevated temperatures. The overall cause of aging was electrolyte decomposition which resulted in loss of cyclable lithium, i.e. capacity fade, and impedance increase.Commercially available polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers were investigated, both electrochemically and mechanically, to determine their suitability as negative electrodes in structural batteries. The electrochemical performance of carbon fibers was found to be excellent compared to other negative electrode materials, especially for single or well-separated fibers. The mechanical properties, measured as changes in the tensile properties, showed that the tensile stiffness was unaffected by lithium-ion intercalation and cycling. The ultimate tensile strength, however, showed a distinct variation with state-of-charge (SOC). Overall, carbon fibers are suitable for structural battery applications.