MAE research focused on battery life based on material composition

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | tanner.holubar@okstate.edu

Research in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology is focusing on a way to predict how long a battery will last based on its material composition.  

Dr. Jake Bair, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is using phase field exploratory modeling to predict how the material used affects the battery's lifespan. 

This type of modeling uses a continuous variable, the phase field, to study the changes of the material between charging and discharging phases in a battery. Bair’s team is looking at the microstructure composite of a material, a mixture of cation (a positively charged Lithium ion) and a nickel-based alloy with an anion phase, to determine how the structure will function when electrified.  

A composite made up of multiple materials forms a complex structure with varying electrical fields that can go in different directions depending on how the materials are put together.  

Bair’s team is working with Ten-Nine Technologies to determine how the battery’s material structure affects its performance. 

“Our phase field model will be looking at how to put in all the different materials and how to orient them in a physical structure,” Bair said. “They will be able to look at an image of the microstructure material and determine how their battery will perform.”

A material’s microstructure is made of crystal lattices formed by atoms. These lattices appear in ordered arrangement, with the shape differing based on the materials used. This impacts how the electrical field in the material will function.

The team will study materials that have been used traditionally in batteries, as well as looking at specific materials used by Ten-Nine.  

The first year of the two-year project will focus on building the model, which will be capable of handling three to four phases of different materials.  

The second year will delve into implementing the ideal microstructure. This will entail generating and testing different cases, looking at effects of different particle sizes, different particle orientations and optimizing what the perfect microstructure is and how it behaves in certain scenarios.  

“We are looking short- and long-term at optimizing the processing and microstructure, giving temperature ranges of operation before you start seeing significant microstructure changes that affect your efficiency and operation,” Bair said. “We are also looking at any chemical reactions that might occur in the material.” 

This research into phase field exploratory modeling will provide benefits to the students who take part. It will provide them with hands-on opportunities as well as experience with this type of modeling. They will also gain experience through the collection of information about the bulk energy of different material properties.  

To learn more about Bair’s research, click here.