Mechanistic interrogation of battery safety

Lithium-ion batteries are currently pervasive across portable electronics and electric vehicles, and are on the ascent for emergent technology segments including grid storage, long-haul/heavy-duty transportation, and electric aviation. This is, however, predicated upon safe operation of lithium-ion batteries under operational extremes including extreme fast charge and untoward abuse scenarios that may lead to thermal runaway catastrophes. In this regard, it is imperative to understand the mechanistic implications of underlying thermo-electrochemical interactions at hierarchy of scales in the resulting thermal safety consequences. This presentation will provide an overview of mechanism-driven safety physics and analytics for delineating thermal stability signatures in lithium-ion battery chemistry and beyond.

Partha P Mukherjee is a professor of mechanical engineering and university faculty scholar at Purdue University. His prior appointments include assistant professor and Morris E Foster faculty fellow of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University (2012­–2017), staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2009­–2011), director’s research fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2008­–2009), and engineer at Fluent India (subsidiary of Fluent Inc., currently Ansys Inc., 1999–2003). He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University in 2007. His awards include Scialog Fellows’ recognition for advanced energy storage, University Faculty Scholar and Faculty Excellence for Early Career Research awards from Purdue University, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Young Leaders Award, to name a few. His research interests are focused on mesoscale physics and stochastics of transport, chemistry and materials interactions, including an emphasis in the broad spectrum of energy storage and conversion.

Click here to learn more about Partha’s research with the Energy and Transport Sciences Laboratory (ETSL), in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University.