Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has found a way of decoding the sounds of failing batteries. Their announcement, which we link to below, explains how batteries produce faint sounds over time, signaling their gradual degradation. We had not previously heard of this phenomenon before.
Decoding the Sounds of Degrading Batteries
Battery scientists have known of these sounds for some time, although few of them were able to interpret them. And moreover, to complicate matters further, perfectly good batteries also emit faint sounds too, adding to the confusion.
But that is all set to change, after Massachusetts researchers analyzed the faint sounds coming from lithium-ion batteries. They were able to correlate particular sound patterns with specific events inside these batteries.
Decoding the sounds of failing batteries successfully, could provide the basis for monitoring the state of these batteries internally. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology imagines, “relatively simple, totally passive and nondestructive devices continuously monitoring the health of battery systems”.
This discovery could create opportunities for monitoring health and future prospects of storage, and electric car batteries. That way, service providers and owners could someday predict the operating life, and eventual failure of their batteries.
How Researchers Listened to Degrading Batteries
“We managed to decode the acoustic emissions after careful scientific work,” explains Prof Martin Bazant. “We were able to classify them as coming from gas bubbles from side reactions, or fractures from expansion and contraction of the active material, and classify their signatures.”
This novel finding opens the door to non-destructively studying internal battery mechanisms, while they are charging and discharging. Something similar may have been done before. However, decoding the sounds of failing batteries in this new way is far less expensive, and simpler to do with the right equipment.
More Information
Using Ultrasound to Monitor Batteries for Signs
Internal Battery Structure By Ultrasound
Preview Image: Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Insights
