Pulse Charging of Lithium Ion Battery

A lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is a complicated battery technology that uses lithium ions as a key component of its electrochemistry. During a discharge cycle, lithium atoms within the anode are ionized and separated from their electrons. The lithium ions move from the anode and taste the electrolyte until they reach the cathode, where they recombine with their electrons and electrically neutralize. The lithium ions are sufficiently little to be ready to move through a micro-permeable separator between the anode and cathode. partially due to lithium’s small size (third only to hydrogen and helium), Li-ion batteries are capable of getting a really high voltage and charge storage per unit mass and unit volume.

The Components of a Lithium Ion Battery

Li-ion batteries can use a variety of various materials as electrodes. the foremost common combination is that of lithium cobalt oxide (cathode) and graphite (anode), which is most typically found in portable electronic devices like cellphones and laptops. Other cathode materials include lithium manganese oxide (used in hybrid electric and electric automobiles) and lithium iron phosphate. Li-ion batteries typically use ether (a class of organic compounds) as an electrolyte.

Lithium Ion Battery Charging

The key to fast charging is mentioned as how briskly the charge current will be transferred into the battery without destroying them. Some chargers which are available within the market cannot meet the quality of fast charging which is defined by the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) which states that fast charging means charging the battery to full capacity without damaging the battery within 4 hours and 80% charge return in not less than the quarter of an hour or 50% charge return in no less than 5 minutes. Fast charging always needs to be controlled to avoid overcharging of the battery which can cause the battery to be heated and lead to the out-gassing process.

Pulse charging methods has been developed united with the fast charging methods for Lithium-ion battery. this system applies the continual constant current pulse with certain pulse width until the battery is fully charged.

This technique is a powerful method for charging lithium-ion, which may maximize the battery capacity. this system is clearly different thereupon of a conventional method for charging lithium-ion cells. The peculiarity of this system lies in the use of a certain value of current or voltage to charge the battery at the desired time (usually in second and minute order). The condition of fully charged may be indicated by the extent of voltage degradation when the charging is at the remainder phase or the count of the charging pulse.

What Happens During Pulse Charging in Lithium Ion Batteries?

In EV s, the pulse-charging technique is usually used as a fast charging method for the lithium-ion battery pack. The charging rate (based on the common current) may be precisely controlled by varying the width of the pulses, typically about one second.

During the charging process, a brief interruption of 20 to 30 milliseconds, between pulses allows the chemical actions within the battery to be stabilized by equalizing the reaction throughout the majority of the electrode before recommencing the charge.

This enables the chemical action to maintain pace with the speed of inputting the voltage. This method also can reduce unwanted chemical reactions at the electrode surface like gas formation, crystal growth and passivation. At this stage, it's possible to charge the battery at a high current flow which makes charging faster for the battery with no damage to the gas release. By using the right method and charging consistent with its specification, we will obtain a better lead to the fast-charging method.