SBIR/STTR Award attributes
The modern warfare environment has demonstrated an ever-increasing need for electrical power and energy carrying capacity. Soldiers are now expected to carry in excess of 20lbs of batteries for a 72-hour mission. This weight only increases when operating specialized equipment such as communication, targeting, or mobility equipment. As a consequence, lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery packs have become the predominate form of man-portable energy storage. Unfortunately, this has introduced additional hazards to the forward area. State of the art lithium-ion battery cells are inherently hazardous items. They contain large amounts of energy in the form of chemical potential and are filled with a flammable electrolyte. If they are damaged through accident or enemy action, they have the potential to become sources of inextinguishable flames which also produce toxic acid smoke. The danger posed from battery pack failure is only enhanced in the maritime environment. For this Phase I SBIR program, CFD research proposes to greatly reduce the risk associated with high energy density battery packs through the implementation of Li-ion cells containing non-flammable electrolyte. Recent advancements in electrolyte technology have allowed the production of 18650 format Li-ion cells which are highly resistant to fire ignition. These non-flammable cells demonstrate similar performance to cells filled with traditional flammable carbonate-based electrolytes. CFD research will evaluate the performance characteristics of these non-flammable cells and utilize the data to retrofit existing battery packs. The primary target of this effort will be the improvement of electrically driven dive propulsion vehicle (DPV) safety and performance in forward areas. An existing 18650 based DPV battery pack will be performance tested, disassembled, and retrofit with non-flammable cells. The resulting non-flammable protype battery will be characterized utilizing the same procedure as the original flammable pack to provide a direct performance comparison between the two cell chemistries.
