Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2025
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Department
Electrical Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. David Wetz
Second Advisor
Dr. Alexander Johnston
Third Advisor
Dr. Wei-Jen Lee
Abstract
There are many types of energy storage devices that are available for driving high-power electrical loads. Choosing the right chemistry is difficult and factors such as energy density, power density, safety, cycle life, and recharge rate are among the many that must be considered. Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) possess the highest combined power and energy density, making them an attractive option for many applications. Previous studies at the Pulsed Power and Energy Lab (PPEL) characterized lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) and lithium-titanate-oxide (LTO) battery chemistries. LFP’s and LTO’s have modest power density, modest energy density and modest cycle life. However, there is still potential for a catastrophic thermal runaway event. This risk has prevented LIB deployment in power systems where a thermal runaway event would have cascading or catastrophic effects on the surrounding environment, equipment and personnel Though the LFP and LTO chemistries have shown some promise in studies performed to date, other chemistries have shown promise, such as nickel-zinc (NiZn), need to be considered and studied for their viability in high-power electric loads. Previous characterization efforts have established an industry-relevant standard testing protocol to size and evaluate energy storage for a given application. NiZn batteries utilize an aqueous electrolyte yet have a higher working voltage than other aqueous rechargeable batteries. They are cost effective, offer improved safety, high power density, are commercially available, and are comprised of non-toxic materials that are fully recyclable; however, they also have lower energy density and modest cycle life compared to their LIB counterparts,
The aim of this work is to study commercially available NiZn technology at the battery level. The results from this work will help inform the development of safe practices and optimized load profiles for the typical NiZn alkaline technology. The battery is tested at several ambient temperatures using a controlled environmental chamber and discharged under constant power and constant current loads to show any variation in performance across operating environments. The batteries’ capabilities are evaluated during long-term full depth of discharge (DoD) and partial DoD, and destructive testing is conducted for risk assessment of the device under test (DUT). These destructive tests included overcharge, short circuit, and over discharge in accordance with UL-9540A standards. During these tests, gas samples were collected from destructive tests and analysis on toxicity was performed using a Shimadzu 2014 gas chromatograph (GC).
Keywords
NiZn batteries, Energy storage, High-power, Lifetime, Cycling, Destructive testing
Disciplines
Power and Energy
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Schmitz, Benjamin P., "CHARACTERIZATION AND PROFILE CONSIDERATIONS OF NICKEL-ZINC ENERGY STORAGE UNDER HIGH-POWER AND PULSED LOADS" (2025). Electrical Engineering Theses. 396.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/electricaleng_theses/396