Energy Storage Science and Technology

   

The Research and Simulation Analysis of Swelling Force Characteristics in Energy Storage Battery Modules

Huimin FAN1(), Haohong PENG1, Hui MENG1, Menghong TANG1, Haohao YI1, Jing DING1, Jincheng LIU1, Chengshan XU2, Xuning FENG2   

  1. 1.EVE Energy Co. , Huizhou 516006, Guangdong, China
    2.School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
  • Received:2021-11-30 Revised:2021-11-30
  • Contact: Huimin FAN E-mail:115279@evebattery.com

Abstract:

The swelling force characteristic is one of the important characteristics for studying the performance and safety of energy storage LiFePO4 batteries, which is affected by the state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) of the battery. However,evolution and mechanisms of swelling force over the full life cycle of large-capacity LiFePO4 batteries are not well understood now. In this study, we investigate the variation of swelling force of 280Ah LiFePO4 battery in a special fixture, which was assembled into modules with different string numbers, and we analyze the evolution of swelling force under the full-SOC and the full-life cycle. The results show that the swelling force changes with the SOC during a single cycle. Due to the structural characteristics of graphite and lithium iron phosphate materials, there were two swelling peaks during the charging process at approximately 30% SOC and 100% SOC, and two peaks during the discharging process at 100% SOC and 30% SOC. These peaks evolved differently as the battery degraded. The force at 100%SOC gradually changes from the maximum value to the minimum value, while at 30%SOC, the force gradually becomes the largest. In addition, after the SOH dropped to around 90%, the expansion force showed a linear correlation with SOH. The swelling force growth trend maintained as increase the series number, the maximum expansion force of the 1P12S module reached 2365 kgf when the SOH was 70%. Based on the measured data, the simulation analysis of the swelling force of the module indicates that the design of the module's main components can meet the structural safety performance requirements throughout its entire lifecycle. This work preliminarily explores the swelling force characteristics of LFP battery modules, which is conducive to providing reference for swelling force simulation at the module level. It provides support for the safe design and development of LFP battery modules in energy storage system.

Key words: LFP battery, swelling force, energy storage module, State of Charge (SOC), State of Health (SOH)

CLC Number: