Lithium-Ion Battery Aging Experiments at Subzero Temperatures and Model Development for Capacity Fade Estimation

Abstract

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries widely used in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid EVs (HEVs) are insufficient for vehicle use after they have degraded to 70% to 80% of their original capacity. Battery lifespan is a large consideration when designing battery packs for EVs/HEVs. Aging mechanisms, such as metal dissolution, growth of the passivated surface film layer on the electrodes, and loss of both recyclable lithium ions, affect the longevity of the Li-ion battery at high-temperature operations. Even vehicle maneuvers at low temperatures <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(T &lt; \mbox{0}\ ^\circ\mbox{C})$</tex-math></inline-formula> contribute to battery lifetime degradation, owing to the anode electrode vulnerability to other degradation mechanisms such as lithium plating. Nowadays, only a few battery thermal management schemes have properly considered low-temperature degradation. This is due to the lack of studies on aging of Li-ion batteries at subzero temperature. This paper investigates how load cycle and calendar life properties affect the lifetime and aging processes of Li-ion cells at low temperatures. Accelerated aging tests were used to determine the effect of the ambient temperature on the performance of three 100-Ah LiFeMnP0 <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> Li-ion cells. Two of them were aged through a normalized driving cycle at two temperature tests ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$-\mbox{20}\ ^\circ\mbox{C}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and 25 °C). The calendar test was carried out on one single battery at –20 °C and mid-range of state of charge (50%). Their capacities were continuously measured every two or three days. An aging model is developed and added to a preliminary single-cell electrothermal model to establish, in future works, a thermal strategy capable of predicting how the cell ages. This aging model was then validated by comparing its predictions with the aging data obtained from a cycling test at 0 °C.