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(A) Structural battery composite cells manufacture; and (B) Their connection, insulation, and installation in the multicell structural battery laminate
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Multifunctional materials facilitate lightweight and slender structural solutions for numerous applications. In transportation, construction materials that can act as a battery, and store electrical energy, will contribute to realization of highly energy efficient vehicles and aircraft. Herein, a multicell structural battery composite laminate, wit...
Citations
... Xu et al. used three of these cells connected in series to make a multicell structural battery laminate, showing great potential for the realisation of larger multifunctional systems. [20] Recently, improvements to the manufacturing process of the structural battery composite cell were proposed by Siraj et al., who obtained significantly improved performance and repeatability of the cells. [21] A vacuum-assisted infusion process for the SBE was used and an energy density of 41.2 Wh kg À 1 was reported. ...
Carbon fibres are multifunctional materials considered for the realisation of structural battery electrodes. Processing conditions affect the carbonaceous microstructure of carbon fibres. The microstructure dictates the fibre‘s mechanical properties, i. e. modulus and strength, as well as its electrochemical capacity. Here, carbon fibre processing conditions are investigated to identify the effect of carbonisation temperature on carbon fibre multifunctionality. Different thermal conditions during carbonisation are considered, while keeping the precursor material, applied tension, and oxidation temperature constant. The carbonaceous microstructure of fibres is investigated via wide‐angle x‐ray scattering (WAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses to determine the effect of the carbonisation temperature. Mechanical and electrochemical tests are performed to characterise carbon fibre multifunctionality with respect to mechanical and electrochemical performance. A moderate trade‐off between mechanical and electrochemical performance is demonstrated, where the elastic modulus and strength decrease and the electrochemical capacity increase with reduced carbonisation temperature. Here, for the studied temperature interval, the elastic modulus and strength is found to drop up to 7 % with a 15 % increase in capacity. Thus, fibres customised for targeted multifunctionality within a limited design space can be realised by careful selection of the processing conditions in conventional carbon fibre manufacture.
... For this approach, due to the flowing nature of the liquid electrolyte, most scientists use glass fiber to reinforce the solid polymer electrolyte to prevent the cathode/anode from contact. Despite the usage of solid polymer electrolytes has been tempted in the latest research advances [28,29], the mechanical strength of solid polymer electrolytes is still not high enough to rid the use of glass fiber separators. Thus, how to achieve the enhancement of mechanical strength of solid polymer electrolytes so that the usage of glass fiber can be avoided is an important issue for the achievement of thin composite structural battery laminates. ...
... Compared with basic materials, the interlaced laminated sheets of nanofibers can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the material [62,63]. Xu introduced a multiunit-structured battery composite laminate composed of three advanced structural battery composite units in series [64] and studied its electrochemical and mechanical properties. The experimental results indicate that the capacity of the multiunit-structure battery composite laminate is slightly affected by tensile load. ...
Advanced composite materials have excellent performance and broad engineering application prospects, and have received widespread attention in recent years. Advanced composite materials can mainly be divided into fiber-reinforced composite materials, laminated composite materials, matrix composite materials, and other composite materials. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the types and characteristics of advanced composite materials, and provides a comprehensive evaluation of the latest research on structural strengthening and resilience improvement in advanced composite materials from the perspectives of new methods, modeling optimization, and practical applications. In the field of fiber-reinforced composite materials, the hybrid technology of carbon fiber and glass fiber can achieve dual advantages in combining the two materials. The maximum increase in mechanical properties of multilayer sandwich RH plate by hybrid technology is 435.4% (tensile strength), 149.2% (flexural strength), and 110.7~114.2% (shear strength), respectively. In the field of laminated composite materials, different mechanical properties of laminated composite materials can be obtained by changing the deposition sequence. In the field of matrix composites, nano copper oxide particles prepared by nanotechnology can increase the hardness and tensile strength of the metal matrix material by 77% and 78%, respectively. In the field of other composite materials, viscoelastic materials and magnetorheological variants have received widespread attention. The development of composite materials benefits from the promotion of new methods and technologies, but there are still problems such as complex preparation, high cost, and unstable performance. Considering the characteristics, application requirements, cost, complexity, and performance of different types of composite materials, further improvements and innovations are needed in modeling and optimization to better meet practical engineering needs, such as the application of advanced composite materials in civil engineering, ships, automobiles, batteries, and other fields.
... The device chemistry has often used thermoset polymers, so methods such as prepregging, liquid resin or film infusion have been used for SSCs, whilst SBCs have been manufactured by hand lay-up inside a glovebox or with liquid resin infusion. 8,9 A multicell laminate consisting of three SBC cells in series integrated into a CFRP laminate has been demonstrated (Figure 2(a)) 15 with the following multifunctional properties: elastic modulus E = 25 GPa, strength σ = 312 MPa, Γ * = 24 Wh/kg and P* = 9.6 W/kg. 9 In parallel, an electrochemical actuator laminate, akin to an SBC, with E = 100 GPa has been demonstrated. ...
... Methodologies to assess multifunctional performance in various application scenarios 9 and using a new metric called 'residual specific' properties have been demonstrated. 19 Extended multifunctional design studies have considered the viability of using SPCs in various applications 15,20 and evaluate the corresponding benefits and challenges to widespread use, such as fire resistance, long-term cycling performance and cost. One study focused on SPC aircraft cabin floor panels to power the in-flight entertainment system. ...
This study investigates the viability of implementing multifunctional structural power composites in a four-seater air taxi, the CityAirbus. For a given specific energy of the power source, the cruise endurance can be approximately doubled by using structural power composites as opposed to conventional batteries. Replacing all the eligible composite mass and batteries with structural power composites can reduce the CityAirbus weight by 25%. To achieve the current design performance, the minimum required elastic modulus, strength, specific energy and power for the structural power composite are 54 GPa, 203 MPa, 74 Wh/kg and 376 W/kg, respectively: current state-of-the-art structural power composites are now approaching this level of performance. Hence, structural power composites are considered feasible for adoption in the urban air mobility sector and have the potential to improve endurance and facilitate commercialization. This paper also discusses several key challenges that must be addressed to realize the adoption of structural power composites in future electric air taxis.
... The research for next-generation structural batteries is achieving new milestones. For example, a SB composite with remarkable multifunctional performance was developed by Asp et al., featuring an energy density of 24 Wh/kg, an elastic modulus of 25 GPa, and tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa (Fig. 1d) [13]. [10], (b) a micro drone with structural battery cells [11], (c) Tesla Model Y EV structural battery design [12], (d) a structural battery composite developed at Chalmers University of Technology [13]. ...
... For example, a SB composite with remarkable multifunctional performance was developed by Asp et al., featuring an energy density of 24 Wh/kg, an elastic modulus of 25 GPa, and tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa (Fig. 1d) [13]. [10], (b) a micro drone with structural battery cells [11], (c) Tesla Model Y EV structural battery design [12], (d) a structural battery composite developed at Chalmers University of Technology [13]. ...
... At this scale, single fibres are serving as both electrodes and reinforcements [16]. DoI (III) or embedded integration design is used in this study since it is widely investigated in the literature (see [13,17,18]). ...
Lightweight and energy-efficient structures are the cornerstones of new designs in demanding areas such as aerospace engineering. Electrically-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have widespread applications globally and are increasingly being used for high resolution surveying.
However, on-board batteries typically make up to more than one third of a multi-rotor UAV’s mass. In addition to their weight, the limited energy storage of batteries is another major problem for prolonged missions with higher payloads. Structural Electrical Energy Storage (EES) systems such as Structural Batteries (SB) and Structural Supercapacitors (SSC), also known as Multifunctional Energy Storage Composites (MESC), can potentially provide structural mass-saving and increased flight time. In this study, a concept for integrating the structural EES systems into Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composite was introduced and its mechanical and electrical performance for a particular aerial
surveying UAV use-case were investigated. In our concept design, the on-board batteries of the drone were replaced with a highly-integrated MESC. The design led to a weight reduction of 37.6% in the UAV. In addition, the introduction of the MESC did not depreciate the mechanical properties of the drone. Finally, the performance of the existing setup was compared against the concept configuration in a test mission simulation. The results show that highly-integrated MESCs can be successfully implemented in battery-less multi-rotor UAVs and improve their functionality by creating significant weight reduction.
... Since carbon fiber is an excellent lightweight structural reinforcement material the structural battery composite inherits high mechanical properties 3 . A successful example is a recently reported structural battery by Asp et al. 4 and its integration in a multi-cell composite laminate 5 . The structural battery possesses an elastic modulus of 25 GPa and strength of 300 MPa and holds an energy density of 24 Wh kg −1 . ...
Structural batteries are multifunctional composite materials that can carry mechanical load and store electrical energy. Their multifunctionality requires an ionically conductive and stiff electrolyte matrix material. For this purpose, a bi-continuous polymer electrolyte is used where a porous solid phase holds the structural integrity of the system, and a liquid phase, which occupies the pores, conducts lithium ions. To assess the porous structure, three-dimensional topology information is needed. Here we study the three-dimensional structure of the porous battery electrolyte material using combined focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy and transfer into finite element models. Numerical analyses provide predictions of elastic modulus and ionic conductivity of the bi-continuous electrolyte material. Characterization of the three-dimensional structure also provides information on the diameter and volume distributions of the polymer and pores, as well as geodesic tortuosity.
... The electrification of transportation calls for lightweight and compact energy storage. A promising solution is to decrease the number of components by using multifunctional devices such as the structural battery, where the energy storage capabilities of traditional lithium-ion batteries are integrated into the structural components of carbon fibre reinforced composites [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In the structural battery, the carbon fibres, besides being the mechanical load carrier, simultaneously functions as negative electrodes by reversibly hosting lithium (Li) ions in their microstructure. ...
... • Industry Examples: By early 2023, there are different announcements for electrode stack-to-module system architectures based mainly on solid-state electrolytes, but no systems in series production, e.g. the company ProLogium announced an EV battery pack based on solid-state technology and describe their approach as "Cell is Modul (CIM)" [82]. Additionally, the first research results provide an impression of what an implemented approach may look like [81,83,84]. ...
In this paper, battery system architectures are methodologically derived in order to find the key type differences. In a first step, the system levels are identified and distinguished. In order to be able to completely cover the solution space of battery system architectures, a distinction is also made between mono- and multifunctional materials. Based on the system levels, a framework for possible architectures is derived. Four system architecture generations with a total of eight different types are identified and analyzed in the dimensions “Nomenclature”, “Approach”, “Omitted Components” and “Industry Examples”. In this way, upcoming system architectures, such as cell-to-pack and cell-to-chassis, can be clearly differentiated. Finally, fundamental product characteristics for the four system generations are derived and compared.
... Structural battery composite addresses the need to maximize energy storage and to simultaneously minimize size and weight by intrinsically storing electrical energy while being a part of the load carrying structure itself. Due to the potentials of such multifunctional composites, they are being investigated as multifunctional engineering materials for a diverse range of applications, e.g., structural energy storage [1], sensing [2], health monitoring [2], energy harvesting [3], and morphing [4]. ...
... The electrification of transportation calls for lightweight and compact energy storage. A promising solution is to decrease the number of components by using multifunctional devices such as the structural battery, where the energy storage capabilities of traditional lithium-ion batteries are integrated into the structural components of carbon fibre reinforced composites [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In the structural battery, the carbon fibres, besides being the mechanical load carrier, simultaneously functions as negative electrodes by reversibly hosting lithium (Li) ions in their microstructure. ...
