Pick of the Week: CD-adapco Unveils Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Simulation

By Anthony J. Lockwood

CD-adapco (Melville, NY, and London, UK) has released the STAR-CCM + Battery Simulation Module, a new CAE tool for simulating spirally wound lithium-ion battery cells. The technology is aimed at helping the automotive and battery industries design and develop advanced electric drive vehicle power sources quickly, says the company.

Image courtesy of CD-adapco.

The development project that has resulted in the STAR-CCM + Battery Simulation Module was begun in August 2011 and is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The new spiral cell software was developed within the first year of a multi-year award, according to the company.

“Proliferating simulation methods in the new and rapidly changing field of lithium-ion battery development is the goal of the Computer-Aided Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) project,” said Ahmed Pesaran, energy storage group team leader at the NREL. “By including such models in to their mainstream product, CD-adapco is supporting the Department of Energy to meet these goals.”

Image courtesy of CD-adapco.

Goals of the project include developing battery engineering tools to design cells and battery packs; validating the accuracy of those tools; shortening prototyping and manufacturing processes; improving overall battery performance, safety, and life; and reducing battery costs.

The tool was created in conjunction with Battery Design LLC, Johnson Controls, and A123 Systems. The computer simulation technology project was one of three chosen to support the DOE’s CAEBAT program to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy provided the funding.

“It is CD-adapco’s strategy to collaborate with experts in emerging fields, such as electrochemistry, to develop customer-focused solutions,” said Steve Hartridge, Director of Electric & Hybrid Vehicles at CD-adapco, in the announcement of the STAR-CCM + Battery Simulation Module. “By capturing the process, data, and knowledge of experts involved in this project, CD-adapco enables a wide audience to begin applying simulation methods to the design of lithium-ion cells.”

Image courtesy of CD-adapco.

“The code includes some of the latest techniques for modeling electrochemical and thermal performance,” added Robert Spotnitz, the president of Battery Design LLC.

CD-adapco is the distributor for Battery Design Studio, a tool produced by Battery Design that allows engineers to design lithium-ion batteries, simulate performance, and analyze data.

For more information on the STAR-CCM + Battery Simulation Module, visit CD-adapco.

Go here for more on Battery Design Studio.

Go here for more on STAR‑CCM+.

Click here to see the CD-adapco training schedule.

See details on an upcoming training session on the Battery Design Studio and Battery Simulation Module here.

Here’s an abstract of the paper “Electrothermal Simulation of Spirally-Wound Lithium Ion Cells,” by Robert Spotnitz et.al.

Here’s a presentation on spiral cell modeling with Battery Design Studio.

For more on CAEBAT, go here.

See why DE’s editors selected the STAR-CCM + Battery Simulation Module as their Pick of the Week.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.