Methods for Quantifying Expansion in Lithium-Ion Battery Cells Resulting from Cycling: A Review

Preprints.org

Abstract

Significant efforts are being made across academia and industry to better characterize lithium-ion battery cells as reliance on the technology for applications ranging from green energy storage to electric mobility increases. The measurement of short-term and long-term volume expansion in lithium-ion battery cells is relevant for several reasons. For instance, it provides information about the quality and homogeneity of battery cells during charge and discharge cycles, as well as aging over it’s lifetime. The expansion measurements are useful for the evaluation of new materials and the improvement of end-of-line quality tests during cell production. These measurements may also indicate the safety of battery cells by aiding in predicting state of charge and state of health over the lifetime of the cell. Expansion measurements can also assess inhomogeneities on the electrodes and defects such as gas accumulation and lithium plating. In this review, we first establish the known mechanisms through which short term and long term volume expansion in lithium-ion battery cells occurs. We then explore the current state-of-the-art for both contact and non-contact measurements of volume expansion. This review compiles existing literature to outline the various options available to researchers aiming to make ex situ volume expansion measurements by doing post mortem analyses on individual components and in operando measurements on entire battery cells. Finally, we discuss the different considerations when selecting an appropriate measurement technique. The selection of the optimal method for measuring battery cell expansion depends on the objective of the characterization, duration, required resolution, and repeatability of results. Costs and required space for the measurement equipment are also considered.

Authors 5

1. Tessa Krause corresponding Aachen

   Precitec (Germany) · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Precitec GmbH & Co. KG , Draisstraße 1 , 76571 Gaggenau , Germany

   RWTH Aachen University TOS - Lehrstuhl für Technologie Optischer Systeme , Steinbachstraße 15 , 52074 Aachen , Germany

   Precitec GmbH & Co. KG, Draisstraße 1, 76571 Gaggenau, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University TOS -Lehrstuhl für Technologie Optischer Systeme, Steinbachstraße 15, 52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Daniel Nusko

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE , Heidenhofstr. 2 , 79110 Freiburg , Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany

3. Luciana Pitta Bauermann corresponding

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE , Heidenhofstr. 2 , 79110 Freiburg , Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany

4. Matthias Vetter

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE , Heidenhofstr. 2 , 79110 Freiburg , Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany

5. Carlo Holly Aachen Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT , Steinbachstraße 15 , 52074 Aachen , Germany

   RWTH Aachen University TOS - Lehrstuhl für Technologie Optischer Systeme , Steinbachstraße 15 , 52074 Aachen , Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Steinbachstraße 15, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University TOS -Lehrstuhl für Technologie Optischer Systeme, Steinbachstraße 15, 52074 Aachen, Germany