Design and simulation of lithium rechargeable batteries

Lithium -based rechargeable batteries that utilize insertion electrodes are being considered for electric-vehicle applications because of their high energy density and inherent reversibility. General mathematical models are developed that apply to a wide range of lithium-based systems, including the recently commercialized lithium-ion cell. The modeling approach is macroscopic, using porous electrode theory to treat the composite insertion electrodes and concentrated solution theory to describe the transport processes in the solution phase. The insertion process itself is treated with a charge-transfer process at the surface obeying Butler-Volmer kinetics, followed by diffusion of the lithium ion into the host structure. These models are used to explore the phenomena that occur inside of lithium cells under conditions of discharge, charge, and during periods of relaxation. Also, in order to understand the phenomena that limit the high-rate discharge of these systems, we focus on the modeling of a particular system with well-characterized material properties and system parameters. The system chosen is a lithium-ion cell produced by Bellcore in Red Bank, NJ, consisting of a lithium-carbon negative electrode, a plasticized polymer electrolyte, and a lithium-manganese-oxide spinel positive electrode. This battery is being marketed for consumer electronic applications. The system is characterized experimentally in terms of its transport and thermodynamic properties, followed by detailed comparisons of simulation results with experimental discharge curves. Next, the optimization of this system for particular applications is explored based on Ragone plots of the specific energy versus average specific power provided by various designs.