{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":91017,"title":"Safe, High Specific Energy & Power Li-ion Cells","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10601,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10600,"level":3,"code":"TX03.2.1","title":"Electrochemical: Batteries","definition":"Batteries store and convert chemical energy to electricity.","exampleTechnologies":"High-specific-energy, human-rated advanced secondary chemistries beyond lithium-ion, nanoelectronics, super/ultracapacitors, extreme environment energy storage, flow batteries","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":3,"currentTrl":5,"endTrl":5,"benefits":"The main benefits of this research effort are as follows; a) Obtaining compelling evidence using our internal short circuit device, thermal runaway calorimetry, and ultra-high speed X-ray videography to show the safety advantages of the bottom vent and thicker cell can features. b) Being able to influence major commercial Li-ion cell manufacturers to adopt and produce safer, higher performing cell designs.","description":"Today's best, safe commercial Li-ion cell designs achieve ~180 Wh/kg, ~500 Wh/L, and 400 W/kg. When accounting for the lightest (1.35) parasitic mass and smallest (2.0) parasitic volume factors of proven battery construction features, this means that at the battery level we need improvements of 144% and 170%, respectively, to achieve our specific energy (>325 Wh/kg) and energy density (>540 Wh/L) performance targets. Today's best commercial Li-ion cell designs offer the promise of a 47% and 82% improvements, respectively, over the State of the Art as shown in Fig. 1 below. Unfortunately, we can't implement these new cell designs, which are safe enough for small consumer batteries but are unsafe for larger manned applications due to the high propensity for them to side wall rupture during thermal runaway. This proposal offers to overcome this safety issue and enable significant progress towards the Evolving Mars Campaign (EMC) target. We seek our advanced battery designs to be passively propagation resistant to a single cell thermal runaway (TR). Key to this goal is greatly reducing the risk of side wall rupture of the hot thermal runaway products ejected from the cell (a.k.a., ejecta). Side wall ruptures create a blow torch effect which, when impinging on adjacent cells, causes nearly immediate TR propagation in a closely-packed battery designs. The higher energy content (265 Wh/kg, 725 Wh/L) of the newer cell designs from LG, Panasonic, and Samsung have made them susceptible to side wall ruptures during thermal runaway, rather than venting through the intended vent path in the cell header. This is also due to higher reaction kinetics of the electrochemistry, thinner can walls, tight crimp enclosure of the cell header, and inadequate flow rate through the header vent. Tesla Motors was the first to recognize and address this issue by asking cell manufacturers to produce cell designs with bottom burst disc vents. However, those designs exclusively for Tesla and not available to others. Thus, we must stay with lower performing cell designs or implement structural supporting features for the cells in the battery designs. Both options limit battery achievable specific energy to at best 133 Wh/kg. Being able to safely implement the newest cell designs with bottom vents will enable reaching 196 Wh/kg at the battery level. This 47% improvement would save 24 lbs per each 4 kWh MPCV battery or 96 lbs per MPCV flight or enable 1 hour flight run time for the X-57 electric plane by saving 282 lbs from their 46 kWh battery. Similar volume savings impacts are possible by retiring the side wall rupture risk, because it allows cells to be safely nested together more efficiently. These sizable mass/volume savings and safety improvements are aligned with the needs of the EMC. Safe, higher performing batteries are well aligned with EMC needs for high specific power, high specific energy batteries, long life batteries, and deep space suit specific energies >235 Wh/kg. The required vent paths are achieved by scoring a groove pattern in bottom of the mild steel can. Although they look simple, achieving a reliably performing bottom vent is not trivial. Weaker designs are excessively susceptible to corrosion, leakage, damage, and poor performance uniformity. The important question that this research project will answer is whether our design will significantly reduce the side wall rupture risk without significant limitations, such as leakage, corrosion, and excessive performance variations. The scope of the project includes conducting TR tests on similar cells with and without the bottom vent to show the merits of the bottom vent feature. Just 3 months ago, Sony Energy became the first to make a commercially available, high performing design with a bottom vent. We have taken delivery of 400 such SONY cells last month. LG Chem, Ltd., has not publically released a comparable 18650 cell design with a bottom vent yet but is willing to produce small batches of cells with and without them for NASA for this project. The next challenge is how to trigger TR in a manner relevant to latent defect induced cell internal short circuits, like the ones that are the cause of field incidents of TR. External heating to the point of TR with a heater is known to weaken the cell can and induce a high frequency of side wall ruptures. Slow oven heating of cells is induces cell venting many minutes to hours before TR occurs and dries out the cell prior to the onset of TR. It is questionable whether a cell with less quantity of electrolyte generates the same TR thermal output. Our implantable wax insulated internal short circuit (ISC) device that the PI co-invented with NREL has been very successful in inducing TR on-demand with just a modest heat input to >57°C to melt the wax and internally short the cell. Without the device, one must heat the cell >130°C to drive TR. Our first implantation in a batch of a very high energy LG cell design (265 Wh/kg) was very successful and reveals that, with the device in the outer winds of the jellyroll, it is very prone to experiencing a side wall rupture. All our previous attempts to structurally weaken cell cans have proven to not be as reliable in inducing side wall ruptures as the ISC device. The test plan involves four insightful tests. First, we will determine the vent pressures for the top vents and bottom vents of the cell designs by pneumatic testing. Then, we will drive cells into TR, in quantities sufficient to be statistically significant with and without the bottom vent using the ISC device and with no structural support. Next, we will compare the TR thermal output in our cell TR calorimeter. Cells with a bottom vent are expected to eject a higher fraction of the energy rather transferring that energy through the cell can wall. This is important behavior to discern and quantify for high performing, safe battery designs. Finally, we will partner with University College of London via an SAA to perform tomography and capture the TR response with 2D X-ray videos at a phenomenal 2000 frames per second","startYear":2016,"startMonth":10,"endYear":2017,"endMonth":7,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":142242,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Eric","lastName":"Darcy","fullName":"Eric C Darcy","fullNameInverted":"Darcy, Eric C","middleInitial":"C","primaryEmail":"eric.c.darcy@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":335305,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Michael","lastName":"Lapointe","fullName":"Michael R Lapointe","fullNameInverted":"Lapointe, Michael R","middleInitial":"R","primaryEmail":"michael.r.lapointe@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":392233,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Richard","lastName":"Howard","fullName":"Richard W Howard","fullNameInverted":"Howard, Richard W","middleInitial":"W","primaryEmail":"richard.w.howard@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":62108,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Westhelle","fullName":"Carlos H Westhelle","fullNameInverted":"Westhelle, Carlos H","middleInitial":"H","primaryEmail":"carlos.h.westhelle@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[{"file":{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":266930,"fileName":"JSC Technology Showcase 13 Nov 2017","fileSize":2854147,"objectId":266678,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"2.7 MB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":266930,"fileName":"JSC Technology Showcase 13 Nov 2017","fileSize":2854147,"objectId":266678,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"2.7 MB"}],"id":266678,"title":"Merit of the Cell Bottom Vent Feature in 18650 Cells for Preventing Side Wall Rupture","libraryItemTypeId":1222,"projectId":91017,"publishedBy":"JSC Technology Showcase 2017","publishedDateString":"Nov 2017","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1222,"code":"DOCUMENT","description":"Document","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}}],"transitions":[],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"JSC CIF","active":true,"description":"
JSC provides and applies its preeminent capabilities in science and technology to develop, operate, and integrate human exploration missions. The Center encourages collaboration with aerospace and non-aerospace industries, government agencies, and academia to solve science and technology challenges, while actively striving to maximize technology transfer into the commercial sector.
An active and sustainable science and technology development program is key to ensuring the challenges of human exploration are successfully overcome. The JSC-directed solicitations program enables the Center to invest strategically in high priority areas needed to accomplish future missions as articulated in the NASA Technology Roadmaps and the Space Technology Investment Plan (STIP). It offers the Center the ability to address technology gaps that are beyond the requirements of near-term programs to fund. It also provides a platform to continue to grow and maintain critical skills and innovations needed to ensure future mission success. These solicitations encourage use of collaborations to ensure maximum benefit to both the space program and the nation. As such, external partnerships are highly encouraged not only as a funding leverage but to bring innovative ideas and approaches into human exploration programs.
Selection Process
Typically, JSC solicitations are developed by the JSC CTO and the JSC Technology Working Group (JTWG). The competitive calls are coordinated with JSC Senior Staff and communicated to the JSC workforce via internal email distribution to an R&D community list and through postings on the internal center website and through JSC Today notices.
The JTWG solicits, evaluates and prioritizes all JSC solicitation responses in a two-stage process. The JTWG members review project proposals and work together to down-select to the finalists. The Principal Investigators (PIs) make presentations to the JTWG to provide more in-depth project details. This allows the members to select the finalists to support for the year. Selection criteria and funding vary based on the focus of the solicitation but of primary interest are:
Project Accomplishments
Through the result of research and development, JSC’s IR&D project PIs are making important progress in the advancement of technology needed to enable NASA’s mission of space exploration. In addition, many of the technologies development to meet the challenges of space exploration have great commercialization potential. Each year, many of JSC’s IR&D projects file New Technology Reports (NTRs) through the JSC Tech Transfer Office. Several of these reports have received New Technology Evaluation Patent ratings to pursue patents, while additional ones have been scheduled for success story articles to be written and published.
JSC projects active in FY12 and beyond have been included in TechPort. Through the TechPort tool information on the projects is provided and will be updated by PIs as developments and updates become available. This will offer further knowledge and information sharing between NASA developers, researchers, engineers and scientists and other internal and external stakeholders.
The JSC Chief Technologist Office (CTO) sponsors one or more Independent Research & Development (IR&D) solicitations throughout each year depending on available funds. These local solicitations primarily use a blend of Agency Center Innovation Fund (CIF) and the JSC Center Investment Account (CIA) funds to stimulate and encourage technology development, creativity, and innovation. The objective is to address the technology needs of the Agency as well as the nation. For these reasons, funds distributed to JSC support emerging technologies and creative initiatives that leverage the Center’s talent pool and unique capabilities. Scientists and engineers across the Center lead projects and establish partnerships between other centers, agencies, research laboratories, academic institutions and private industries.
","parentProgram":{"acronym":"CIF","active":true,"description":"Through the Center Innovation Fund, the Space Technology Mission Directorate allocates a small portion of the NASA workforce and procurement budget to internal research and development to feed early stage innovation in technology and exploration. Activities with in the Center Innovation Fund are proposed and led by NASA scientists and engineers. These activities and creative initiatives pursue emerging technologies that leverage talent and capabilities at the NASA Centers.
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