Standard 18650 cylindrical battery cells (Panasonic NCR18650B) were used in this research as they are commercially available, have a circular cross-section, and have high energy density relative to prismatic or pouch lithium polymer cells often used in this application. The proposed configuration consists of a thin tube filled with 18650 cells to provide a multifunctional member with a high bending stiffness. The method of reinforcement is similar to that of the jellyroll electrodes placed within a thin cylindrical battery shell being substantially stronger than either alone [2]. The proposed configuration is compared with the non-reinforced tubing in three-point bending and shown to increase stiffness due to the load-bearing capabilities of the battery cells.
The mechanical abuse tolerance of bare battery cells has been extensively tested, however, little data is available for reinforced cells or multifunctional cell configurations [3]. It has been noted that high strain rate and reduced state of charge negatively affect the integrity of Li-ion batteries [4]. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the jellyroll electrodes have been found to be anisotropic, contributing to non-uniform mechanical response of the cell as a whole [5]. In this study, testing was performed at a zero state of charge and a high strain rate to simulate the worst-case relative performance of the multifunctional members. In addition, multiple sizes of reinforced members were tested to investigate the scalability of the multifunctional configuration.
The cylindrical lithium-ion structural battery presented here can provide both a power source and a load-bearing member for multirotor aircraft. Battery reinforcement is shown to provide up to 1100% stiffness and 750% yield strength improvements. Substitution of the proposed structural battery for aluminum tubes in a notional quadcopter design showed a 41% improvement in theoretical maximum hover time. This research motivates future multifunctional battery configurations with topologically optimized designs for various loading scenarios.
[1] Zhang YC, Ma J, Singh AK, et al. (2017) Multifunctional structural lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 28: 1603-1613.
[2] Zhang XW and Wierzbicki T. (2015) Characterization of plasticity and fracture of shell casing of lithium-ion cylindrical battery. Journal of Power Sources 280: 47-56.
[3] Zhu J, Zhang XW, Sahraei E, et al. (2016) Deformation and failure mechanisms of 18650 battery cells under axial compression. Journal of Power Sources 336: 332-340.
[4] Xu J, Liu BH, Wang XY, et al. (2016) Computational model of 18650 lithium-ion battery with coupled strain rate and SOC dependencies. Applied Energy 172: 180-189.
[5] Sahraei E, Campbell J and Wierzbicki T. (2012a) Modeling and short circuit detection of 18650 Li-ion cells under mechanical abuse conditions. Journal of Power Sources 220: 360-372.