Understanding the Risk of Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Runaway in Aerospace Applications

Understanding the Risk of Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Runaway in Aerospace Applications


Tuesday, May 17th, 2016
Presentation Time: 11:00am
Venue: Cymer Conference Center (Room 248)
Structural Materials Engineering (SME) at UC San Diego

Dr. Thomas P. Barrera
Technical Fellow
Boeing Satellite Development Center, Boeing Co.

Abstract:

Rechargeable Li-ion cells are characterized by quasi-reversible diffusion-limited processes across a wide range of operating conditions. Under nominal charge-discharge operating conditions, optimized Li-ion cells exhibit high coulombic energy efficiencies (>98%) and low self-discharge rates which yields near adiabatic cycling behavior. However, unlike traditional high capacity rechargeable battery cells, Li-ion cell chemistry is not tolerant to certain abuse conditions which may induce thermodynamic instabilities. It is widely known that Li-ion thermal instability may create conditions leading to a phenomenon known as thermal runaway. For some applications, the consequences of thermal runaway has the potential to make Li-ion chemistry an at-risk technology. The severity and consequences of Li-ion cell thermal runaway has created a need for identifying battery-level design modifications for risk mitigation. To further mitigate these risks, investigators have shifted research efforts toward identifying key factors which contribute to the severity of thermal runaway. This seminar will focus on identifying gaps and opportunities in achieving new paradigms for mitigating Li-ion battery thermal runaway safety hazards. Challenges with current technologies to increase safety margins and steps required to reach the readiness level required for successful insertion in an industrial application will also be presented.

Biography:

Dr. Barrera is currently a Technical Fellow for The Boeing Co., Satellite Development Center, El Segundo, CA. In this capacity, Tom is a member of the Spacecraft Systems Integration team where he is responsible for spacecraft mission assurance, design and engineering of advanced electrical power systems (EPS), and systems engineering leadership. During his 18 yr. career at The Boeing Co., Tom has led numerous teams in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of advanced EPS supporting various commercial and government satellite customers. Tom is also an invited industry member of the AIAA Battery Safety Standards CMTE, NASA Engineering Safety Center EPS Technical Discipline Team, AIAA Aerospace Power Systems Technical CMTE, and the newly formed NTSB/UL sponsored Battery Safety Council. Tom is the recipient of the Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems World Class Engineering and NASA Manned Space Flight Awareness Awards. In 2016, Tom was invited by the NASA/JPL to serve as a senior board member for the energy storage technology assessment supporting future (beyond 2025) NASA interplanetary missions. Tom has held faculty appointments at USC, University of Houston, and the California State Polytechnic University (Pomona, CA) and is on the UCLA Extension faculty where he teaches a short course titled, “Lithium-Ion Battery Technology.” Previously, Tom was a Space Shuttle fuel cell systems engineer (NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX) and a Member of Technical Staff (The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA). Under the direction of Dr. Ken Nobe, Tom received his PhD in Chemical Engr. at UCLA and then worked for Dr. Bruce Dunn as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the UCLA Materials Science and Engr. Dept. Tom also received a MS in Industrial Engr. from Northwestern University, BS in Chemical Engr. and BA in Mathematics-Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Tom is Past Chairman of the local Southern California/Nevada section of The Electrochemical Society and currently serves as the Secretary of the AIAA Aerospace Power Systems Technical CMTE.

Dr. Thomas P. Barrera