Yardney will design and develop a lightweight, safe, reliable, and cost-effective aircraft battery with improved thermal design and the use of active cooling techniques. As a novel part of the battery design, Yardney will investigate and implement high performance electrodes using three dimensional (3D) micro-porous current collectors, safer thin metal case cell design, a micro-channel heat pipe thermal control system to collect heat generated inside the battery and then conduct the heat to the outer shell, thus providing direct cooling for the overheated region. The novel design will also prevent heat propagation between the cells with a lightweight aerogel that has low thermal conductivity. Tests of the enhanced cell design will be compared with Yardneys existing battery, which meets current full aircraft electrical performance requirements. Yardney will work with the University of Arizona, experts in thermal modeling and heat-generation studies in battery electrodes and the battery cells and investigate the most effective thermal design for the 3D electrodes and the battery pack using high performance computing systems.
Benefit: The novel battery design offers safe, cost-effective thermal management solutions to prevent the critical battery overheating and consequent thermal runaway. The unique 3D electrode structure and the improved miniature heat pies and direct cooling provides a practical way to solve the battery overheating problem and safe operation of a battery. The improved thermal modeling will find applications in hybrid and electric vehicle markets poised to benefit from the technology developed in this effort.
Keywords: direct cooling, direct cooling, Safety, Li-ion battery, heat pipes, thermal modeling, 3D micro-porous structured current collector, high-power battery
