Events

ME Seminar Series

Professor Venkat R. Subramanian

UT Austin

Friday, April 5, 2024 | 11 a.m. – noon | Ewing Room, Perkins Student Center

Model-based BMS for current and next-generation batteries

ABSTRACT

Fast charging is being heavily researched for the widespread implementation of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. However, charging at high currents accelerates several parasitic reactions that lead to the degradation of the cell, affecting its lifetime. These reactions lead to loss of lithium inventory, loss of active material, and increased impedance in the cell. Some examples of these side reactions include the growth of the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, transition metal dissolution, and deposition, lithium plating, solvent oxidation, etc. These mechanisms degrade the cell and reduce its cycle life. Physics-based multi-scale battery models solve equations that govern the charge and mass balances within the cell. Using these detailed mathematical models, it is possible to study material degradation mechanisms and predict their impact on capacity loss under several operating conditions. These models can be integrated with battery management systems (BMS) to control the cell’s performance. These models can further be used to design novel charging protocols that enable safe and optimal cell performance and suppress cell material degradation. Model-based BMS algorithms require fast codes that can predict and estimate battery parameters in real time and control the battery’s performance under different loads. This seminar will present the current efforts to move the models for BMS for current and next generation batteries. In addition, challenges and preliminary results in upscaling model-based BMS for packs will be presented.

BIO

Professor Venkat R. Subramanian received his B.Tech. degree in chemical and electrochemical engineering from the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, India, in 1997 and his Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA, in 2001. Subramanian is an elected ECS Fellow, and is a past elected chair of IEEE division of the Electrochemical Society. He is also a former elected technical editor of the Electrochemical Society, and a former elected chair of Area 1e: (Electrochemical Engineering) of AIChE. Subramanian’s group aims to be the world’s leading group in the area of model-based Battery Management System (BMS) and model-based design of current and next-generation energy storage devices. His group has made contributions to the fundamental science of capacity fade (KMC simulation of SEI) and has the fastest code reported in the literature for battery models. He has IP on the most robust solver for battery models. His group has demonstrated 2x improvement in the life of 18Ah cells using model-based charging profiles. His group has the ability to model phenomenon at different time & length scales, and chemistries (LiM, LiS).

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