A Li-Ion Battery Tool for Predicting Life and Performance for Satellite Orbit Operations Scenarios

The expected life of satellite Li-Ion batteries is determined by many factors, including thermal considerations, electrode chemistries, orbit and mission life, DOD, and pulse power requirements. First-principles battery model literature pertains primarily to orbital cycling at moderate DOD under isothermal conditions without variable power loads. Knowledge must be extended to encompass wider life parameters, thereby providing managers with valid predictive tools to study mission scenarios on which to base their decisions. Global Aerospace Corporation (GAC), in collaboration with its research partner, Washington University (WU), plans to develop, demonstrate, and validate a prototype a high-fidelity, first principles-based Li-Ion battery operations tool, called Dakota, that will predict the performance of cells and batteries in LEO orbit under a variety of operational conditions (orbit cycling, pulse-power, and long-term operation). The key to this effort is developing computationally-efficient, full-physics models of Li-Ion cell performance. The goal is to provide a tool for managers, power system engineers and operations personnel to project life and performance of Li-Ion batteries in LEO. In Phase I, we successfully developed reformulated models of two different Li-Ion cells and chemistries, implemented them in computationally-efficient computer code in Dakota, and verified the Dakota simulations against benchmark data.