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Tag: Battery Testing News

3 Industry-Leading Applications of Structural Batteries

May 7, 2021

Image Credit: Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of Technology.

Long before Elon Musk announced that Tesla was looking to integrate batteries into the car’s structure itself to reduce the weight of energy storage, researchers were already developing structural battery solutions. What does it mean to have a “massless” battery, and what are the possible applications for this type of battery?

What are structural batteries?

Batteries can often be the singular heaviest part of a machine; in electric vehicles, battery packs can make up 25% of the entire mass. In mobile applications like vehicles or drones, this means that significant energy is used to carry the battery pack as well. Unlike fuel, which burns away and makes the vehicle lighter over time, batteries maintain their full weight and thus do not spend energy as efficiently.

This obstacle is what structural batteries hope to address. In theory, these types of batteries double as an integral load-bearing part of the machine itself. They are also dubbed “massless” batteries as they do not add any extra mass to the device or machine outside of the necessary structural elements. For instance, Tesla hopes to make the battery pack the floor of the car itself, eliminating the need for a separate car floor to house the heavy batteries.

What materials are used for massless batteries?

Unlike current batteries that are held within a protective battery pack casing, structural batteries must withstand weight independently. For this reason, they need to be made out of much more rigid and sturdy materials. A common choice among structural battery researchers is carbon fiber. It is not only a strong material that can uphold the integrity of a structure; it is also a favorable material for battery anodes due to its high ion-carrying capacity.

Although structural batteries have been under development since the 2000s, there has yet to be a viable rendition. The latest version of a massless battery, developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, was ten times better than previous ones. Yet at an energy density of just 24 wh/kg, it has only 20% of a lithium-ion battery’s capacity. There is still some way to go, but the technology is certainly promising.

Applications and benefits of structural batteries

Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles, from cars and trucks to ships and planes, would greatly benefit from structural batteries. As previously mentioned, vehicle battery packs take up a lot of weight. Integrating energy storage into the structure itself will increase the range capacity of a vehicle, as extra energy is not needed to carry the non-load bearing battery packs. This energy savings would especially be valuable for larger vehicles like cargo trucks and even planes, as it can help address range anxiety.

Robotics

Another exciting application for structural batteries is robotics. Like EVs, batteries for robotics can often constitute 20% of the space or mass of a robot, limiting the designs of robots.

Robotics researchers have been exploring how to integrate the battery into the robot’s anatomy, designing biomorphic batteries that in some ways borrow their concept from energy storage in animals. Basing their research on the way fat tissues store energy throughout the body, scientists are developing ways to distribute energy storage throughout the robot. These types of structural batteries could potentially be used in applications such as body prosthetics as well as flexible or soft robotics.

Medicine and Microelectronics

Microelectronics is also a promising application for structural batteries, especially in medical applications and implants. Structural batteries will allow manufacturers to design these devices in even smaller formats. Battery-powered devices like pacemakers or hearing aids could be redesigned to be more comfortable and more seamlessly integrated into the body.

How battery testing can support research

High-quality, customizable battery testing technology can support the research and development of structural batteries. Arbin’s Regenerative Battery Testing Series, for instance, can test batteries according to a drive cycle, mimicking how a battery would be used in real life. This can provide scientists with a more accurate snapshot of the capabilities of a battery, facilitating and accelerating the testing and development process. Contact us to find out more.

5 Features of Arbin’s Regenerative Battery Testing Series

June 17, 2020

A battery intended for a smartwatch should be tested with a slow and steady discharge profile that mimics the watch’s energy use in actuality. Conversely, a battery intended for larger applications such as electric vehicles, should be tested with dynamic test profiles that simulate how a car is used and driven. Battery test equipment should be able to test cells in a way that can accurately examine the cell with regards to its intended application. For instance, Arbin’s Regenerative Battery Testing (RBT) series is designed specifically for high-power batteries used in applications such as electric vehicles, military and stationary grid storage.

All of Arbin’s equipment is designed around the principles of flexibility, safety, and dependability. Learn more about the key features of our RBT series below.

Made for high-power applications

The RBT series is designed to test large battery packs. Providing wide voltage and current ranges and a high power range of up to 1MW.

The simulation control feature of the RBT allows the system to charge or discharge according to a dynamic test profile. For electric vehicles, this would mean importing a drive profile that mimics how energy and power demand changes during a drive. In an application such as grid storage, the test profile could mimic how the grid would collect and release energy throughout a certain period of time. The ability to conduct tests in this way is important to see how the switching between charging and discharging or the fluctuations in power requirements would affect the battery pack. Making use of true bipolar circuitry, there is no switching time between charging and discharging, meaning that more accurate simulations can be achieved. Each system is also built to run continuously at maximum power so there is no fear of overpowering the system if tests need to be run at high power for long periods of time.

Easy to program and collect data

Testing systems come with a PC equipped with MITS Pro, Arbin’s software package. The software is completely user-friendly and programming dynamic test profiles is simple. A text profile of time-vs-power or time-vs-current data in .xlsx, .csv, or .txt formats can be directly uploaded to the system. The system can safely handle thousands of data points to run your desired simulation.

Test profiles are completely customizable and easily programmed using dropdown menus. Parameters for different experiment controls such as current, voltage, power, load, and many others can be input directly into the system. All testing channels are completely independent but can also be combined to operate in parallel.

Data can be logged based on changes in Time, Current, or Voltage; data analysis and plotting tools are based in accessible programs such as Data Watcher and Microsoft Excel.

The goal of Arbin’s software is to simplify and streamline the testing process so users can get the most accurate and precise results.

The system has built-in safety features

Accidents or mishaps in battery testing can be dangerous. Circuit overloads, overheating, overcharging or over-discharging are problems that can occur during testing. MITS Pro also allows users to program safety limits for current, voltage, total power and more. Once a channel reaches the set limit, the system enters a rest state for a period of time, or halts the test altogether.

The system is also equipped with an emergency stop button and multiple levels of fusing to protect it from unintentional misuse. The equipment has onboard microcontrollers that will stop tests if there is a failure that poses a risk. These features are crucial in halting any problems as they arise, ensuring a safe testing environment.

An economical and efficient solution

One special feature of the RBT system is its use of regenerative circuitry to discharge power back to the grid. The system is able to send power back to the grid with >95% efficiency, making it a more economical solution by decreasing the net energy consumption of the system. This also helps facilitate the overall cooling process by reducing heat dissipation.

The discharge power is also cleaner than before with the total harmonic distortion as low as 3%.

Customizable to meet your needs

There are multiple auxiliary options that can be added to the RBT system to fit your testing needs. Extra options would allow users to better monitor individual cells within a pack. Temperature measurement channels and temperature chamber interfaces are available, which would give users more flexibility in measuring and controlling temperature during testing. CAN-bus communication is an option to test battery packs with integrated Battery Management Systems, which can help communicate valuable messages to the MITS Pro software. Digital or analog input/output modules can further help control testing procedures.

A comprehensive system that provides easy to use features greatly facilitates the testing process. High-power dynamic applications especially require strong and power-efficient equipment to conduct meticulous and rigorous testing and ensure safe procedures.

How Comprehensive Battery Testing Can Help Decrease Battery Wastage in the Medical Field

December 17, 2019

Q-Core Medical Infussion pump

Introduction: Batteries in Medical Equipment

Various types of batteries are used in medical equipment. With its long life and high energy density, lithium batteries are the favored choice as both a primary source of energy in implanted and portable devices, and as a back-up in others. Equipment that use batteries can range from monitors and tools like surgical drills and robots, to critical devices such as defibrillators, transport ventilators, heart-lung machines and more.

According to an FDA survey, 50% of issues in hospitals are battery related; equipment malfunctions and failures because batteries are not in good condition. Since these are mission-critical situations, batteries found in medical equipment are routinely switched out, even while they are still usable. As much as this practice reduces the risk of failure in critical moments, a lot of batteries go to waste. Comprehensive testing and accessible maintenance information is needed to reduce wastage while still ensuring that it will work when the time comes.

Why are batteries going to waste?

In order to ensure the dependability of devices with minimal maintenance, reliability-centered maintenance strategies are often used in the medical field. The goal of this approach is to preserve the functioning of the system and lower operational costs by reducing the need for invasive maintenance. This is accomplished by removing, changing, or upgrading the variables within a system before it can cause a failure. Cables, plugs, wires, batteries and other non-durable components of a device are changed regularly, even if they are still in good working condition.

According to biomedical and clinical technicians, most batteries are switched out every 2-3 years and according to the date stamps provided by manufacturers, even though lithium batteries are typically designed to last 5 years or more. This is done as a safety precaution, but date stamping is not extremely accurate. With the possibility that batteries remain in storage before being used, most batteries are not used to the fullness of their potential before the expiration date. Although reliability is of the utmost importance in this field, reducing battery wastage is also an issue biomedical technicians and health care providers are seeking to address.

What is lacking?

Predicting battery life is extremely challenging given that many factors affect a battery’s health over time. Manufacturers cannot completely predict how a battery would be used or misused. One person from the FDA expressed that manufacturers need to anticipate how these batteries and devices will be handled by the end-users, and not necessarily how they are ideally intended to be used.

Challenges and situations that may arise during use need to be factored into anticipating the wear-and-tear that the battery may face. With this information, better predictions on battery health and life can be made.

Another issue that is often pointed out by biomedical and clinical technicians is the lack of clear maintenance instructions available. This makes it difficult for technicians to know how best to manage and take care of the battery in order to make the best use out of it.

What can be done

In order for manufacturers to better provide accurate information to device users, more precise testing must be done on batteries in order to better understand them. High precision and high resolution equipment will allow manufacturers to see better how different factors and situations affect a battery. While testing the batteries as if they are being used and handled in day-to-day procedures, high resolution equipment will catch even the smallest changes, allowing manufacturers to better predict battery life and what would affect it. This would also make date stamping more accurate and reliable.

According to hospital biomedical and clinical engineers, some of the most common problems with battery devices include overcharging, undercharging, and incorrect replacement. Thus, having software that allows you to be flexible and customizable with tests profiles will also help to simulate real-life situations and how the battery might be used. This would help manufacturers anticipate the damage that could be done to the battery. All this information would then assist manufacturers in confidently providing more comprehensive information and clearer maintenance instructions for users.

Conclusion

Battery manufacturers are often apprehensive about developing batteries for medical equipment due to concerns over liability. However, with the right test equipment, these concerns can be minimized. With accurate and precise hardware it would be easier for manufacturers to predict battery life as well as inform users how best to extend it. In this way, batteries can be ready to handle any emergency situation and battery wastage can be reduced.

"Q-Core Medical Infussion pump" by amos boaz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0