Track: Engineering Education

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries have been widely used for vehicle onboard electric energy storage of battery electric vehicles. The performance, efficiency, safety, service life, and cost of electric vehicles significantly depend on the onboard lithium-ion battery systems. Battery testing is important for battery research/development. The testing data is essential for battery characterization, standardization, simulation, and validation. Battery testing data is also critical for the design of the Battery Management System (BMS). Additionally, cost of lithium-ion batteries significantly depends on their raw materials and manufacturing processes. Properties of lithium-ion batteries can also be altered by varying the ratio of each raw material used in battery production. As electrification is the future for the automotive industry, familiarization with battery testing and production is needed for engineers. To strengthen the skills of students in vehicle electrification, Ferris State University is establishing the Center for Applied Battery Production and Testing. This center features industrial-scale battery charge/discharge units, environmental temperature chambers, Universal Testing Machine (UTM), thermal cameras, and small-scale battery manufacturing equipment. By using the above equipment, engineering technology students at Ferris State University can perform different battery charging/discharging tests, battery thermal tests, battery aging tests, and battery safety tests (including battery deformation and foreign object penetration). Students can also make their own small-scale lithium-ion battery cells with different cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator materials. The Center for Applied Battery Production and Testing at Ferris State University is training engineering technology students with highly demanded skill sets for the electrification trend of the automotive industry.