Composite Use in Batteries

Composite Use in Batteries Composite materials are being utilized in many applications with advancing technology. One of the areas where composite materials are being used is batteries. With the emergence of electric vehicles, the importance of rechargeable batteries has increased. At this point, Li-Ion cells with fast charging capability have come to the fore. The use of electric vehicles is increasing every day. Particularly in the climate crisis our world is facing, carbon emissions play a major role. For this reason, consumers have started to prefer using electric vehicles. The increasing demand has also increased development work on these vehicles. The most discussed topic here is raising battery capacity and reducing vehicle weight. Short vehicle range is the leading problem in electric vehicles. A lighter vehicle will reduce the energy the electric motor consumes and allow the battery to last longer. Li-Ion batteries, which have the ability to be recharged and show high durability, are preferred as batteries. Studies have shown that using composite instead of aluminum, which is traditionally used in Li-Ion battery housings, relatively reduces battery weight. Desired properties in battery packs are: low weight, high thermal conductivity, electrical insulation, corrosion resistance, mechanical strength and low cost. Considering these properties, polymers offer: low weight, electrical insulation, corrosion resistance and low cost. For this reason, polymer-reinforced composite materials are being utilized in battery packs. Looking at conventional housings, aluminum and its alloys are used in these housings. The biggest reason for this is that these materials show higher strength compared to polymers. At the same time, in a vehicle accident, these housings serve an important function to prevent the battery from catching fire. Battery housings produced using aluminum and its alloys have high thermal conductivity. However, despite these superior properties, when polymer composite battery housings are examined, they have been found to be lighter.

Polymer Composite Housings

The most significant property of polymer composite housings, as mentioned above, is that they are light in weight. This has a major contribution to electric vehicle batteries lasting longer and providing greater vehicle range. However, these housings show lower thermal conductivity compared to conventional aluminum housings. For this reason, different types of additives must be added to make these housings more conductive. Another disadvantage of polymer composite housings is that they are more costly. For this reason, they are usually preferred in racing cars. The additives to be added to polymer composite materials are very important. Depending on these additives, usage properties change. There are many different studies regarding these added materials. For example, as a result of studies conducted, it was determined that battery housings could be produced by applying conventional production stages with PA6/AlN/BN-reinforced polymer composite material. The thermal conductivity of the battery housing prepared with these additives has also increased. (1)

Battery Designed Using Carbon Fiber

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have also conducted work on composite cells. As a result of the study, the researchers discovered that carbon fiber composites could be used to create structural cells that could help minimize mass in electric vehicles and consumer electronics. One of the most common problems faced by engineers developing electric vehicles is the mass of cells required to provide power to motors. Heavy cells reduce vehicle range and battery capacity is insufficient. However, when they increase cell capacity, the mass will also increase, resulting in even shorter vehicle range. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden developed a new cell to solve this problem. The project leader in the conducted research project stated in a statement that they succeeded in designing a structural battery using carbon fiber that has both competitive energy storage capacity and rigidity. Compiled by: Nilsu Kotil References 1. Development and Investigation of Properties of Polymer Composite Based Li-Ion Battery Housings – Görkem Yıldız 2. Review on Composite Polymer Electrolytes For Lithium Batteries – A. Manuel Stephan, K. S. Nahm 3. High Performance Composite Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium-Ion Batteries - Peng Fan, Hao Liu, Vladimir Marosz, Nia T.Samuels, Steven L. Suib, Luyi Sun, Libing Liao 4. https://www.compositesworld.com/news/windform-lx-30-composites-contribute-to-oresat0-cubesat-deployment