(Press-News.org) Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are improving the safety and performance of electric vehicles through a new design that protects their batteries.
Their design uses tubes filled with paraffin wax, which is a type of phase change material, or PCM. These materials are commonly used to store and dissipate heat, making them useful for protecting a battery from overheating.
The researchers’ new method uses PCM-filled tubes in another way, exploring their application as protection against an impact. The work was published in the journal Structures.
“We want to manage the risk of battery damage in a crash,” said Farhad Farzaneh, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the study’s lead investigator. “This is a significant concern in the overall safety and reliability of electric vehicles and will help advance their adoption in the automotive industry.”
Crash absorbers should be lightweight and capable of absorbing a significant amount of energy during an accident. The PCM-filled tubes soften the blow from impact and absorb heat, keeping nearby battery cells at a safe temperature and protecting against temperature rise that might lead to a fire.
The research team examined thin-walled aluminum tubes with a range of diameters, thicknesses of exterior metal, and end cap designs. They developed models to predict their performance according to those parameters and verified those models through experiments.
They found that tubes that were capped on their ends and tubes that were filled with PCM absorbed about 43% and 74% more energy, respectively, than unfilled tubes.
“Impact loading on the battery module is a major risk in adopting electric vehicles,” said coauthor Professor Sungmoon Jung. “Of course, every measure you adopt to protect a vehicle has trade-offs for things such as weight. Farhad’s research found an innovative way to combine two protective measures into one to improve the safety of electric vehicles.”
Besides making batteries safer in the event of a crash, the research could indirectly improve battery life by minimizing potential damage from a less intense impact or thermal issues.
“By incorporating PCM-filled tubes in electric vehicle batteries, we hope to prevent catastrophic events and improve the overall reliability and durability of the battery system,” Farzaneh said.
END
FAMU-FSU researchers advance electric vehicle battery safety with new energy absorption design
2023-07-27
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New manufacturing equipment could be used at sea or in deep space
2023-07-27
An industrial engineering researcher at The University of Texas at Arlington has earned a grant from the Department of Defense to purchase state-of-the-art hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing equipment.
The project will improve manufacturing capabilities at UTA for printing a wide range of metals and alloys. The grant recipient, Emma Yang, is an assistant professor in the Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Department and an expert in additive and sustainable manufacturing. END ...
Teens need consistent positive messaging in multicultural environments
2023-07-27
In an increasingly diverse, multicultural world, adolescents struggle academically in multicultural environments if they don’t receive consistent and positive messages at school, home and among their peers about cultures that are not their own, a University of California, Davis, study suggests.
In a survey of more than 700 teens at public schools in the Southwestern United States, researchers found that while these students attended ethnically diverse schools and reported learning about multiple ...
Susan G. Komen® Awards new metastatic breast cancer research grant
2023-07-27
Susan G. Komen®, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, announced the fourth MBC-focused research grant supported through the Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Collaborative Research Initiative (MBCCRI), a collaboration between Komen, Duke Cancer Institute and the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, which pairs researchers from each of the organizations to work together and address significant gaps in our knowledge about MBC to advance patient care and improve patient outcomes.
In 2021, Komen’s MBCCRI awarded $1.5 million for three research projects focused on finding ...
LJI and Kyowa Kirin launch immunology fellowship program
2023-07-27
LA JOLLA, CA—Support for early career researchers is about to get a major boost, thanks to a new fellowship fund established by leaders at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Japan-based global pharmaceutical corporation, Kyowa Kirin, Inc.
The fellowship fund has been named in honor of LJI Professor Michael Croft, Ph.D., who has worked closely with Kyowa Kirin scientists through the years. The new Michael Croft Fellowship in Immunology Fund recognizes Croft’s commitment to training and mentoring the next generation ...
Stephen K. Streiffer named director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory
2023-07-27
UT-Battelle, LLC, has appointed Stephen K. Streiffer to be the next director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He currently serves as interim director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and will join ORNL in October.
“Stephen is a proven leader with diverse experience and a commitment to mission-driven research and development,” said Lou Von Thaer, CEO of Battelle and chair of UT-Battelle, which operates ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). “Throughout his career, Stephen has leveraged existing strengths to create new opportunities and partnerships that strengthen our nation’s ability to innovate ...
Gene therapy treats chronic pain by dialing down sodium
2023-07-27
Researchers at NYU College of Dentistry’s Pain Research Center have developed a gene therapy that treats chronic pain by indirectly regulating a specific sodium ion channel, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The innovative therapy, tested in cells and animals, is made possible by the discovery of the precise region where a regulatory protein binds to the NaV1.7 sodium ion channel to control its activity.
“Our study represents a major step forward in understanding the underlying biology of the NaV1.7 sodium ion channel, which can be harnessed to provide relief from chronic pain,” said Rajesh ...
Bees and wasps independently invent the same architectural tricks
2023-07-27
At first glance, the hexagonal cells build by honey bees and social wasps may seem similar, but they are significantly different. Honey bees build using wax, whereas wasps use paper. Honey bees build their double-sided combs vertically, whereas wasps build single-sided comb horizontally (i.e., the opening of each cell faces downward).
Indeed, the hexagonal cells built by these two groups have independent evolutionary origins. Just like sharks and whales have similar body plans due to their watery environment, bees and wasps build hexagonal cells because the shape maximizes strength and storage area, while minimizing building materials.
But what happens when perfectly ...
Study finds strong support for easing Medicaid enrollment procedures
2023-07-27
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments changed rules and procedures related to Medicaid enrollment. These changes decreased many of the burdens eligible people face when signing up for programs and contributed to a 30 percent increase in Medicaid enrollment. However, the end of public health emergency declarations brings an end to these pandemic policies, which many fear could lead to eligible people losing public health insurance simply because they are unable to fulfill administrative requirements such as accurately filling out and submitting forms, renewing their enrollment ...
MIND diet study shows 'short-term' impact on cognition
2023-07-27
New research shows the importance of long-term commitment to the MIND diet for reaping the greatest benefit to brain health.
“The benefits within the new study’s three-year clinical trial weren’t as impressive as we’ve seen with the MIND diet observational studies in the past, but there were improvements in cognition in the short-term, consistent with the longer-term observational data,” said lead study author Lisa Barnes, PhD, associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at RUSH.
Results from the study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that within a three-year period, there was no significant ...
Race/ethnicity isn't associated with unplanned hospitalizations after breast reconstruction
2023-07-27
July 27, 2023 – Race/ethnicity is not an independent predictor of hospital readmission in patients undergoing breast reconstruction surgery, reports a study in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Among patients who have unplanned hospitalizations after breast reconstruction, costs are substantially higher for Black or Hispanic patients, according to the new research by ASPS ...