Computational method for design and manufacture of electrochemical systems

• US 9,666,895 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2011
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sakti3, Inc
• Original Assignee: Sakti3, Inc
• Inventors: Wang, Chia-Wei, Albano, Fabio, Sastry, Ann Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Kenneth M
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, SUNRAY
• Application Number:
  US13/086,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20110202159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,238 Days
• 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 manufacturing an electrochemical cell of a battery device, the method comprising:

generating spatial information for a three dimensional battery device using a numerical method, the spatial information including an anode geometry, a cathode geometry, a separator geometry, and one or more current collector geometries, the three dimensional battery device including a plurality of particles;

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;

selecting one or more material properties from a plurality of materials, the material properties including a size of particles within the plurality of particles;

modifying the one or more material properties from the plurality of materials comprising a change in size of particles within the plurality of particles and repeatedly simulating the one or more material properties with the spatial information via a simulation program using the numerical method until one or more desired performance parameters are met;

simulating the one or more material properties with the spatial information via a simulation program using the numerical method, the numerical method using a plurality of partial differential relationships representative of a behavior of the three dimensional battery device;

outputting one or more performance parameters from the simulation program; and

manufacturing a resulting battery device including an anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and current collectors modeled with the spatial information, wherein the electrolyte comprises the separator;

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

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more performance parameters is selected from electrode conductivity, ionic conductivity of electrolyte, cell voltage performance, intercalation stress, and temperature distribution.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting one or more other material properties from the plurality of materials and repeating the modifying, simulating, and outputting steps until the one or more performance parameters are within a tolerance of the one or more desired performance parameters.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatial information includes thin film shape, shape, spatial orientation, or other spatial information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatial information is selected from a stacked configuration, an inter-digitated configuration, or a sinusoidal configuration.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulation program uses at least a finite element process.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatial information comprises a plurality of irregularly shaped objects, the irregularly shaped objects are selected from fibers, pellets, disks, spheres, and ellipsoids, and mixtures of any of them.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatial information comprises intrinsic information and extrinsic information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance parameters comprise lifetime, safety/mechanical/kinetic, thermal, ion concentration, voltage profile, degree of intercalation, degree of achievable capacity under carious discharge rate or discharge profile, intercalation-induced stresses, and volume changes.

10. 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:

a central processing unit (CPU);

one or more computer readable memories coupled to the CPU, the one or more computer readable memories including,

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 including a plurality of particles,

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,

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 particles of less than 100 microns for the structure of the battery device, wherein the one or more first characteristics comprise electrical, thermal, mechanical, transport, or kinetic characteristics;

a bridge unit coupled to the CPU and the one or more computer readable memories, the bridge unit being used to load the one or more computer codes;

a data storage device coupled to the bridge unit, the data storage device including one or more simulation programs and a database, the database being used to gather electrochemical cell information and couple the electrochemical cell information to the one or more simulation programs wherein the system is configured to manufacture the 3D battery; and

wherein the one or more simulation programs includes one or more codes directed to a numerical method, the numerical method using a plurality of partial differential relationships representative of a behavior of the three dimensional battery device, and wherein the numerical method includes one or more codes directed to a finite element method, a boundary element analysis, an element-free Galerkin (EFG) method, or a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method, and wherein the one or more simulation programs includes one or more codes directed to repeatedly simulating one or more material properties comprising a change in size of particles until one or more desired performance parameters are met.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer readable memories further comprise one or more codes directed to a post processing program.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer readable memories further comprise one or more codes directed to a meshing program.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer readable memories further comprise one or more codes directed to one or more boundary conditions.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer readable memories further comprise one or more codes directed to one or more irregular shaped objects, the one or more irregular objects associated with one or more of the second characteristics.

15. The system of claim 10, further comprising one or more input devices coupled to the bridge unit, the one or more input devices including a keyboard, a mouse, or a light pen.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising a network interface controller coupled to the bridge unit and the data storage device.

17. The system of claim 10, further comprising a display coupled to the bridge unit.