The article, “Peltier effects in lithium-ion battery modelling,” was published online on 15 March 2021, in Journal of Chemical Physics (Vol.154, Issue 11). It may be accessed via the link below:
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0038168
DOI: 10.1063/5.0038168
Authors:
Lena Spitthoff (1), Astrid Fagertun Gunnarshaug (2), Dick Bedeaux (2) Odne Burheim (1) and Signe Kjelstrup (2)
1) Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
2) PoreLab, Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Abstract:
A high battery temperature has been shown to be critical for lithium-ion batteries in terms of performance, degradation and safety. Therefore, a precise knowledge of heat sources and sinks in the battery is essential. We have developed a thermal model for lithium ion batteries, a model that includes terms not included before; namely Peltier and Dufour heat effects. The model is derived using non-equilibrium thermodynamics for heterogeneous systems, the only theory which is able to describe in a systematic manner, the coupling of heat, mass and charge transport. The idea of this theory is to deal with surfaces as 2-dimensional layers. All electrochemical processes in these layers are defined using excess variables, implying for instance that the surface has its own temperature. We show how the Peltier and Dufour heats affect a single cell, and may produce an internal temperature rise of 8.5 K in a battery stack with 80 modules. The heat fluxes leaving the cell are also functions of these reversible heat effects. Most of the energy that is dissipated as heat, occurs in the electrode surfaces and the electrolyte-filled separator. The analysis shows that better knowledge of experimental data on surface resistances, transport coefficients, Dufour and Peltier coefficients are essential for further progress in thermal modelling of this important class of systems.