Coupled Mechanical-Electrochemical-Thermal Modeling for Accelerated Design of EV Batteries: NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

The physical and chemical phenomena occurring in a battery are many and complex and in many different scales. Without a better knowledge of the interplay among the multi-physics occurring across the varied scales, it is very challenging and time consuming to design long-lasting, high-performing, safe, affordable large battery systems, enabling electrification of the vehicles and modernization of the grid. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory, has been developing thermal and electrochemical models for cells and battery packs. Working with software producers, carmakers, and battery developers, computer-aided engineering tools have been developed that can accelerate the electrochemical and thermal design of batteries, reducing time to develop and optimize them and thus reducing the cost of the system. In the past couple of years, we initiated a project to model the mechanical response of batteries to stress, strain, fracture, deformation, puncture, and crush and then link them to electrochemical and thermal models to predict the response of a battery. This modeling is particularly important for understanding the physics and processes that happen in a battery during a crush-inducing vehicle crash. In this paper, we provide an overview of electrochemical-thermal-mechanical models for battery system understanding and designing.