Convection-enhanced electrochemical energy storage devices and related methods

Abstract

A convection enhanced energy storage system includes an electrochemical cell with a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode, a tank holding an electrolyte, and a pump connected to the electrochemical cell and the tank to circulate the electrolyte. The electrochemical cell has large γ and β values, which has high transport resistance from diffusion and there is limited salt in the electrolyte solution to compensate. A computer system can implement a model of a convection enhanced energy storage system, for example for simulation to select parameters for such an energy storage system. The model includes: a convection term in a Nernst-Planck equation representing the convection enhanced energy storage system; boundary conditions of a cell of the convection enhanced energy storage system to account for forced convection at boundaries; gauging conservation of anions within an external tank; and calculating electrode active area as a function of porosity.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.