Computational method for design and manufacture of electrochemical systems

• US 7,945,344 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2009
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sakti3, Inc
• Original Assignee: Sakt13 Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Chia-Wei, Sastry, Ann Marie, Albano, Fabio
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Ramesh B
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, SUNRAY
• Application Number:
  US12/484,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20090326696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 700/103
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/058 Construction or manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2004/021 Physical characteristics, e.g. porosity, surface area
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/131 Electrodes based on mixed oxides or hydroxides, or on mixtures of oxides or hydroxides, e.g. LiCoOx
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/134 Electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/139 Processes of manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/1391 of electrodes based on mixed oxides or hydroxides, or on mixtures of oxides or hydroxides, e.g. LiCoOx
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/1395 of electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell. The method includes generating spatial information including an anode geometry, a cathode geometry, a separator geometry, and one or more current collector geometries. The method also includes storing the spatial information including the anode geometry, the cathode geometry, the separator geometry, and the one or more current collector geometries into a database structure. In a specific embodiment, the method includes selecting one or more material properties from a plurality of materials and using the one or more material properties with the spatial information in a simulation program. The method includes outputting one or more performance parameters from the simulation program.

Claims

1. A method for designing a three-dimensional battery device using computer generated design information and using the computer generated design information to manufacture the battery device, the battery device comprising an anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors, wherein the electrolyte comprises the separator, the method comprising:

providing computer generated relationship between one or more first characteristics referenced against one or more second characteristics for a selected material set for design of three dimensional spatial elements in a three-dimensional electrochemical cell of the battery device, the computer generated relationship including a numerical method using a plurality of partial differential relationships representative of a behavior of the three dimensional battery device including the anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors, wherein the electrolyte comprises the separator;

selecting one or more of the first or second characteristics for the selected material set;

processing the one or more selected first or second characteristics to determine whether the one or more first or second characteristics is within one or more predetermined performance parameters;

using the one or more first or second characteristics to design of the three dimensional electrochemical cell having one or more particle feature sizes of less than 100 microns; and

manufacturing the battery using the one or more first or second characteristics,

wherein the one or more first characteristics comprise electrical, thermal, mechanical, transport, or kinetic characteristics;

wherein the numerical method is at least one process selected from a finite element method, a finite difference method, a boundary element analysis, an element-free Galerkin (EFG) method, or a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method; and

wherein the computer generated design information comprising an anode geometry, a cathode geometry, a separator geometry, and one or more current collector geometries.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more second characteristics comprise particle size, particle spacing, volume fraction, density, composition of cathode/anode/separator/current collector/electrolyte, interfacial interaction of electrolyte/anode or electrolyte/cathode, shape of the cathode/anode/separator/electrolyte, or type of materials;

wherein the electrolyte comprises the separator.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the performance parameters comprises at least one parameter selected from lifetime, safety/mechanical/kinetic, thermal, ion concentration, voltage profile, degree of intercalation, degree of achievable capacity under various discharge rate or discharge profile, intercalation-induced stresses, or volume changes.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the three dimensional electrochemical cell is selected from a structured pair of electrodes, a graded electrode configuration, packed particle structure, porous structure, or any combination of these.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein the relationships include:

mechanical properties and responses obtained via equilibrium or dynamic load considerations,

thermal properties and temperature distributions obtained via heat transfer methods, or

cell potential and concentrations of species and their transport properties, obtained via kinetic relations and/or fluid flow modeling.

5. A method for analyzing a three-dimensional electrochemical system comprising an anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors for a battery device, the method comprising:

generating spatial information including an anode geometry, a cathode geometry, a separator geometry, and one or more current collector geometries;

using a numerical method to process one or more relationships, the one or more relationships being one or more coupled or decoupled, continuous, discretized, or piecewise continuous, partial or whole differential equations or other logical forms, the numerical method representative of a behavior of the three dimensional battery device comprising the anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors; and

wherein the electrolyte comprises the separator;

determining one or more first or second characteristics in a first three-dimensional electrochemical cell from a first battery device;

generating a relationship between the one or more first characteristics referenced against the one or more of the second characteristics;

processing the one or more selected first or second characteristics to determine whether the one or more first or second characteristics is within predetermined performance parameters;

using the one or more first or second characteristics for a second three dimensional electrochemical cell having one or more particle feature sizes of less than 100 microns for a second battery device; and

manufacturing the second battery device using at least the one or more second characterisitics;

wherein the one or more first characteristics comprise electrical, thermal, mechanical, transport, and kinetic characteristics;

wherein the numerical method is at least one process selected from a finite element method, a finite difference method, a boundary element analysis, an element-free Galerkin (EFG) method, or a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the numerical method is used for analysis of multiphysics problems in which the partial or whole differential equations are solved simultaneously.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the numerical method employs meshes or representations of surfaces and volumes.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more second characteristics comprises particle size, particle spacing, volume fraction, density, composition of cathode/anode/separator/current collector/electrolyte, interfacial interaction of electrolyte/anode or electrolyte/cathode, and shape of the cathode/anode/separator/electrolyte.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the performance parameters comprises lifetime, safety/mechanical/kinetic, thermal, ion concentration, voltage profile, degree of intercalation, degree of achievable capacity under various discharge rate or discharge profile, intercalation-induced stresses, and volume changes.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein the three dimensional electrochemical cell is selected from a structured pair of electrodes, a graded electrode configuration, packed particle structure, porous structure, or any combination of these.

12. A computer-aided system for processing information related to a three-dimensional battery device comprising an anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors for the battery device, the system comprising

one or more computer readable memory, the one or more computer readable memory comprising:

one or more computer codes for outputting a computer generated relationship between one or more first characteristics referenced against one or more second characteristics for a selected material set for a design of three dimensional spatial elements in a three-dimensional electrochemical cell for the battery device, the computer generated relationship including a numerical method using a plurality of partial differential relationships representative of a behavior of the three dimensional battery device including the anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors; and

wherein the electrolyte comprises the separator, and the three dimensional spatial elements including an anode geometry, a cathode geometry, a separator geometry, and one or more current collector geometries;

one or more codes directed to selecting one or more of the first characteristics or second characteristics for the selected material set;

one or more codes directed to processing the one or more selected first or second characteristics to determine whether the one or more first or second characteristics is within one or more predetermined performance parameters; and

one or more codes directed to executing a program for processing the one or more first characteristics or second characteristics to provide the three dimensional electrochemical cell having one or more particle feature sizes of less than 100 microns for the battery device;

wherein the one or more first characteristics comprise electrical, thermal, mechanical, transport, or kinetic characteristics; and

wherein the numerical method is at least one process selected from a finite element method, a finite difference method, a boundary element analysis, an element-free Galerkin (EFG) method, or a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising one or more codes directed to a post processing program.

14. The system of claim 12 further comprising one or more codes directed to a meshing program.

15. The system of claim 12 further comprising one or more codes directed to one or more boundary conditions.

16. The system of claim 12 further comprising one or more codes directed to one or more irregular shaped objects, the one or more irregular shaped objects associated with one or more of the second characteristics.