Using neutrons to peer inside a battery designed for hybrid locomotives

Rechargeable batteries may soon provide greater energy efficiency not only for road traffic, but also for rail transport. Scientists at the research neutron source FRM II of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) are taking a closer look at a high performance rechargeable battery for future hybrid locomotives.

The focus is on a sodium/iron chloride battery manufactured by General Electric (GE). The study reveals the distribution of chemical substances within the battery during various states of charge.

Physicists and chemists at FRM II screened a half-discharged and a fully discharged General Electric battery cell using an instrument known as ANTARES (Advanced Neutron Tomography and Radiography Experimental System). The system uses neutrons to non-destructively peer deep inside objects. The other alternative, cutting open the battery, would have allowed moisture and air to enter, thereby possibly influencing the highly reactive contents. Making use of radiography, the scientists were able to visualize the level of sodium in the unopened battery.

Using a second instrument at TUM's neutron source, the residual stress and texture diffractometer STRESS-SPEC, the scientists analyzed the exact composition of chemical substances within the cell. Each of the various materials in the battery reacts differently to the neutron radiation, thereby emitting unambiguous signals. In this way the scientists were able to determine the precise reactant distribution within the cell. This is important in establishing how the battery can be charged and discharged as often as possible.

The General Electric batteries are designed for energy savings of at least ten percent. Up to 10,000 of these 2.33 Volt batteries will provide hybrid locomotives with 2000 horsepower. Unlike the lead batteries currently used in motor vehicles, sodium/iron chloride batteries provide not only more than twice the power density, they also have very high performance, as required by locomotives. A further advantage of the batteries tested at FRM II: Unlike the lithium required for lithium batteries, sodium is readily available in nature in the form of sodium chloride, plain cooking salt.

Together with the FRM II, GE is planning to use neutrons in a real-time analysis of the charging and discharging cycles of batteries to determine with even greater precision the distribution of sodium and other substances within the batteries.

Media Contact

Andreas Battenberg EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.tum.de

All latest news from the category: Power and Electrical Engineering

This topic covers issues related to energy generation, conversion, transportation and consumption and how the industry is addressing the challenge of energy efficiency in general.

innovations-report provides in-depth and informative reports and articles on subjects ranging from wind energy, fuel cell technology, solar energy, geothermal energy, petroleum, gas, nuclear engineering, alternative energy and energy efficiency to fusion, hydrogen and superconductor technologies.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

The Sound of the Perfect Coating

Fraunhofer IWS Transfers Laser-based Sound Analysis of Surfaces into Industrial Practice with “LAwave”. Sound waves can reveal surface properties. Parameters such as surface or coating quality of components can be…

Customized silicon chips

…from Saxony for material characterization of printed electronics. How efficient are new materials? Does changing the properties lead to better conductivity? The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS develops and…

Acetylation: a Time-Keeper of glucocorticoid Sensitivity

Understanding the regulatory mechanism paves the way to enhance the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory therapies and to develop strategies to counteract the negative effects of stress- and age-related cortisol excess. The…

Partners & Sponsors