Apparatus and method for determining service life of electrochemical energy sources using combined ultrasonic and electromagnetic testing
US7845232B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 3, 2007 |
| Grant date | Dec 7, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 18, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01H1/16
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention is an apparatus and method for determining the remaining service life of electrochemical energy generation and storage device including batteries, supercapacitors, DSSC solar cells and fuel cell. Measurements are performed by passing ultrasonic oscillations through the test object. The apparatus of the present invention comprises two arrays of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic probes between which the object being tested is affixed. Polyurethane tips are used for matching the acoustic resistance of the probes with the test object body. The apparatus positions the transmitting and the receiving probe arrays relative to each other. The calibration characteristic for determining the remaining service life of a the test object are established from the signal values from the ultrasonic probes related to the number of charge-discharge cycles obtained at various charge values. A three-dimensional approximating dependence surface is constructed using the normalized signals from the receiving probes. The average value of this surface is determined. The remaining service life of the test object is determined using a calibration curve based on the average level of th…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.