The Impact of Freeze-Thaw Cycling and State of Charge on Cylindrical Li-Ion Batteries

• Published in: Meeting abstracts (Electrochemical Society) Vol. MA2025-01; no. 8; p. 821
• Main Authors: Brink, Abraham, Ojha, Mihir, Ishtiaque, Md Mahdi Ul, Ramamurthy, Jayanth, Alahmad, Qusai, Pint, Cary L., Kingston, Todd A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Electrochemical Society, Inc 11.07.2025
• ISSN: 2151-2043; 2151-2035
• DOI: 10.1149/MA2025-018821mtgabs

Understanding the interplay between electrochemical and thermomechanical phenomena in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is critical because of its influence on battery performance and safety. In particular, adverse environmental conditions can lead to accelerated degradation and even catastrophic and unexpected thermal runaway [1]. While commercial cylindrical batteries are well-suited for space applications, their behavior under associated freeze-thaw conditions has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Cathode particle cracking and electrode deformation have been previously identified in LIBs subjected to low temperatures [2]. In this work, we investigate the effect of freeze-thaw cycling on commercial cylindrical cells at various states of charge (SOC). A custom liquid nitrogen-based testing setup is used to subject the batteries to controlled-rate freeze-thaw cycles while under vacuum. Electrochemical cycling and analysis and X-ray computed tomography are performed at room temperature. The effects of SOC and freeze-thaw cycles on electrochemical and thermomechanical phenomena are identified and presented. Gaining insight into these effects is essential to developing LIBs capable of withstanding harsh environments, such as extreme cold. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge the NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Program for funding this research (NASA Grant Number 80NSSC23M0068). The authors also acknowledge Dr. William West and Dr. Marshall Smart (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) for technical discussion of this work and Dr. Sara Nelson, Ms. Hailey Waller, and Ms. Alesha Roll (Iowa NASA EPSCoR) for administrative services. References [1] B. Ng, P. T. Coman, E. Faegh, X. Peng, S. G. Karakalos, X. Jin, W. E. Mustain, and R. E. White, "Low-temperature lithium plating/corrosion hazard in lithium-ion batteries: Electrode rippling, variable states of charge, and thermal and nonthermal runaway," ACS Appl. Energy Mater. , vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 3653–3664, 2020, doi: 10.1021/acsaem.0c00130. [2] J. Li, S. Li, Y. Zhang, Y. Yang, S. Russi, G. Qian, L. Mu, S.-J. Lee, Z. Yang, J.-S. Lee, P. Pianetta, J. Qiu, D. Ratner, P. Cloetens, K. Zhao, F. Lin, and Y. Liu, "Multiphase, multiscale chemomechanics at extreme low temperatures: Battery electrodes for operation in a wide temperature range," Adv. Energy Mater. , vol. 11, no. 37, p. 2102122, 2021, doi: 10.1002/aenm.202102122.