Establishing links between process parameters and product performance in the manufacture of battery electrode materials for automotive applications.

该项目适合EPSRC的储能和复杂流体与流变学研究领域。可充电锂离子电池的应用范围很广。随着越来越多的电动汽车上路，对下一代电池的要求越来越高；需要动力、能量和寿命。为了实现这些目标，需要更好地理解性能和材料之间的关系。伯明翰大学化学工程学院和华威大学WMG的合作项目将研究用于汽车电池制造的电池电极墨水的配方和混合如何影响其物理和化学性能。这种理解是至关重要的，因为油墨的纳米到微观结构会影响它们的涂层性能和电池的性能，就容量和寿命而言。电极油墨是含有多种成分的高固体分数悬浮液（bb0 - 40% wt）。组分的混合和混合形成最终的涂层浆料将是这个项目的重点。模型电极墨水将设计和配方使用低剪切和高剪切混合装置的组合，并评估其物理微观结构。这些测量将与混合过程的流体动力学有关，从而使结构-过程关系得以发展。该项目将涉及墨水的流变测量，以及使用包括显微镜和断层扫描在内的一系列分析方法进行微观结构表征。WMG在能源创新中心（EIC）内拥有英国领先的研究设施，用于开发，扩大和表征电池。这包括一个用于生产A5袋电池、涂料和中试规模电池的设施。混合过程将在WMG进行和分析，使用最先进的袋式电池制造电极混合能力。伯明翰大学与伯明翰大学物理学院合作，利用伯明翰独特的正电子发射粒子跟踪（PEPT）技术，对模型透明流体的光流测量（粒子图像测速法）以及混合过程中实际油墨的测量相结合，将对这些过程进行更详细的研究。

This project fits EPSRC research areas of Energy Storage and Complex Fluids and Rheology.Rechargeable Li-ion cells are used in a wide variety of applications. With the introduction of more electric vehicles onto the road, next generation batteries with greater demands in; power, energy and lifetime are required. In order to achieve these targets, a better understanding of the performance and materials relationships is required. This collaborative project between the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham and WMG at the University of Warwick will investigate how the formulation and mixing of battery electrode inks, which are used in the manufacture of automotive batteries, affects their physical and chemical properties. This understanding is critical, since the nano- to microstructure of the inks affects their coating properties and performance of the battery, in terms of capacity and longevity. The electrode inks are high solids fraction suspensions (>40% wt) containing multiple components. The mixing and blending of the components to form the final coatable slurry will be the focus of this project. Model electrode inks will be designed and formulated using combinations of low shear and high shear mixing devices and their physical microstructures evaluated. These measurements will be related to the hydrodynamics of the mixing processes enabling structure-process relationships to be developed.The project will involve rheological measurements of the inks as well as microstructural characterisation using a range of analytical methods included microscopy and tomography. WMG, has a UK-leading research facility for the development, scale-up and characterisation of cells, housed within the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC). This includes a facility for the manufacture of A5 pouch cells, coatings and cells at pilot scale. The mixing process will be performed and analysed at WMG, using the state of the art electrode mixing capability for pouch cell manufacture. At the University of Birmingham a combination of optical flow measurements on model transparent fluids (Particle Image Velocimetry) as well as measurements on the actual inks during mixing using Birmingham's unique Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) technique, in collaboration with the School of Physics at the University of Birmingham, will investigate these processes in more detail.