Composite Multifunctional Lithium-Ion Batteries

The goal of this work was to design a battery that serves as the structural material as well as the power source for a vessel. The combination of both mechanical and electrochemical aspects within one material defines the component as a multifunctional material, or in this case, a multifunctional battery. The initial work focused on the fabrication of a novel multifunctional lithium ion battery structure, where reinforcement composite fibers were substituted and utilized as active components within the electrodes and separator, enduring cyclic voltage-capacity testing. The second part of this work investigated an approach to modify a conventional lithium ion pouch battery architecture by creating perforations through the cell architecture in order to reduce delamination or wrinkling of the battery during bending loads. The future aim is to fabricate the battery as part of the composite structure instead of a separate piece of the structure.