Probing lithium-ion batteries' state-of-charge using ultrasonic transmission - concept and laboratory testing

For electrically powered applications such as consumer electronics and especially for electric vehicles a precise state-of-charge estimation for their lithium-ion batteries is desired to reduce aging, e.g. avoiding detrimental states-of-charge. Today, this estimation is performed by battery management systems that solely rely on charge bookkeeping and cell voltage measurements. In the present work we introduce a new, physical probe for the state-of-charge based on ultrasonic transmission. Within the simple experimental setup raised cosine pulses are applied to lithium-ion battery pouch cells, whose signals are sensitive to changes in porosity of the graphite anode during charging/dis-charging and, therefore, to the state-of-charge. The underlying physical principle can be related to Biot's theory about propagation of waves in fluid saturated porous media and by including scattering by boundary layers inside the cell.