Energy Conscious Warm-Up of Lithium-Ion Cells from Sub-Zero Temperatures

• US 20160185251A1
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: US Department of The Army (Government of the United States of America), University of Michigan
• Original Assignee: Young Ki Kim
• Inventors: Zanardelli, Wesley G., Zanardelli, Sonya, Stefanopoulou, Anna G., Mohan, Shankar Narayan, Kim, Youngki, Siegel, Jason B., Ding, Yi
• Granted Patent: US 11,660,980 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/615 Heating or keeping warm
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

There is disclosed an electrical device and a method in which a battery is warmed up when operating from a sub-zero temperature. The electrical device may include a battery; an electrical storage element; and a battery management system including a controller in electrical communication with the battery and the electrical storage element. The controller can be configured to execute a program stored in the controller to shuttle energy between the battery and the electrical storage element until a power capability threshold of the battery has been reached, Shuttling the energy raises a temperature of the battery to meet power demand.

Claims

1. An electrical device comprising:

a battery;

an electrical storage element; and

a battery management system including a controller in electrical communication with the battery and the electrical storage element, the controller being configured to execute a program stored in the controller to shuttle energy between the battery and the electrical storage element until a power capability threshold of the battery has been reached,

wherein shuttling the energy raises a temperature of the battery.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the electrical storage element stores energy electrostatically.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the electrical storage element stores energy electrochemically.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the battery includes a plurality of cells or a single cell,

wherein the cell or cells are selected from:

(i) prismatic cells, or (ii) cylindrical cells, or (iii) pouch cells, and

wherein each cell comprises;

a positive electrode selected from lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, lithium manganese oxide, and lithium iron phosphate; and

a negative electrode selected from graphite, lithium titanate, hard carbon, tin/cobalt alloy, and silicon carbon; and

an electrolyte selected from LiPF₆, LiBF₄, and LiClO₄.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the controller executes the program stored in the controller to determine an initial temperature of the battery before shuttling the energy, and

wherein shuttling the energy occurs if the initial temperature of the battery is below a temperature threshold.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the temperature threshold is 5°

C.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein energy is shuttled using a bi-directional current.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the program stored on the controller is configured to determine the power capability based on at least one of:

(a) a minimum terminal voltage constraint of a cell of the battery,

(b) a maximum terminal voltage constraint of a cell of the battery,

(c) a minimum current constraint of a cell of the battery, or

(d) a maximum current constraint of a cell of the battery.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the power capability is defined as a product of a maximum continuous current that can be drawn over a fixed time interval from the battery without violating any current constraint, any voltage constraint, and any state of charge constraint.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the voltage constraint is one or both of a minimum permissible terminal voltage and a maximum permissible terminal voltage of a cell of the battery.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein a charging current of the shuttling of the energy is less than a discharge current of the shuttling of the energy.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein the controller executes the program stored in the controller to shuttle energy between the battery and the electrical storage element such that the power capability threshold is reached at a time inputted into the controller.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein:

shuttling the energy raises the temperature of the battery to meet power demand.

14. A vehicle comprising:

the electrical device of claim 1 configured to supply electrical power to propel the vehicle, or to supplement propulsion or electric load in a vehicle.

15. A method for heating a battery, the method comprising:

(a) placing a battery in electrical communication with an electrical storage element, and

(b) a bi-directional current shuttling energy between the energy storage element and the battery, wherein energy is shuttled until a power capability threshold of the battery has been reached.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein:

step (b) further comprises determining an initial temperature of the battery before cycling, and

wherein cycling occurs if the initial temperature of the battery is below a temperature threshold.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the temperature threshold is 5°

C.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein:

step (b) comprises pulsed currents.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein:

step (b) comprises determining the power capability based on at least one of

(a) a minimum terminal voltage constraint of a cell of the battery,

(b) a maximum terminal voltage constraint of a cell of the battery,

(c) a minimum current constraint of a cell of the battery, or

(d) a maximum current constraint of a cell of the battery.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein:

the power capability is defined as a product of a maximum continuous current that can be drawn over a fixed time interval from the battery without violating any current constraint, any voltage constraint, and any state of charge constraint,

wherein the voltage constraint is one of a minimum permissible terminal voltage and a maximum permissible terminal voltage of a cell of the battery.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein:

a charging current of the charging phase is less than a discharge current of the discharging phase.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the bi-directional current is a pulsed current with equal durations of charging and discharging phases.

23. The method of claim 15 wherein:

shuttling energy raises the temperature of the battery to meet power demand.

24. A method for determining current that is drawn from a battery, the method comprising:

sensing at least one current of the battery;

sensing at least one temperature of the battery;

sensing at least one terminal voltage of the battery;

sensing a temperature of an ambient medium,

wherein the current is characterized by solving an optimization problem that minimizes a cost.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the optimization problem comprises one or both of constraints on voltage and current.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the voltage constraint comprises one or both of maximum terminal voltage constraint and minimum terminal voltage constraint.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the current constraint comprises one or both of maximum charging current and maximum discharging current.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein the cost is one of:

energy removed from the cell during a period of time, and

difference between the energy removed from the cell during a period of time and a fraction of the temperature rise of the battery over the same period of time.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the cost is computed over a predicted future time.

30. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the current is a bi-directional pulse train, and

the period of time is the period of a pulse train of current.

31. The method of claim 24 wherein the current is drawn until the power capability of the battery reaches a pre-specified level.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein:

the power capability is defined as a product of a maximum continuous current that can be drawn over a fixed time interval from the battery without violating any current constraint, any voltage constraint, and any state of charge constraint.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein:

the voltage constraint comprises one or both of maximum terminal voltage constraint and minimum terminal voltage constraint.

34. The method of claim 32 wherein:

the current constraint comprises one or both of maximum charging current and maximum discharging current

35. The method of claim 24 wherein the current is drawn until a power demand is met.