Powerfiber for Flexible Fabric and Rigid Composite Applications
Abstract
ITN Energy Systems, Inc. (ITN), of Littleton, Colorado, has developed a power integrated fiber based material system for a variety of single fiber, flexible laminate and textile, and rigid composite applications, or combinations thereof. These materials, called "PowerFibers", are the product resulting from the merging of solid-state, thin-film, lithium-based batteries onto fibrous substrates. Characteristic of solid-state, thin-film, lithium-based batteries are their inherent long lifetimes of up to 90,000 charge-discharge cycles at 100% depth-of-discharge. As a result, this battery technology with fiber reinforcement offers great promise in single fiber and multi-fiber composite material applications where both long battery and host device life is required. Individual PowerFibers can be incorporated into "PowerComposites". PowerComposites are multifunctional material systems including, for example, flexible woven or laminated composite articles for applications in wearable electronics, lightweight power integrated fabrics, and other flexible structures. Other PowerComposite applications include PowerFiber incorporation as power integrated structural reinforcement within, for example, rigid polymer matrix composites materials. ITN has developed a strong intellectual property position in PowerFiber and PowerComposite technologies. Ongoing work at ITN involves increasing the power capability and cycling current levels on an individual fiber and multi-fiber composite basis, investigating parallel and serial connections when cycling a network of PowerFibers and PowerComposites, and improvements relative to high volume production of PowerFibers and PowerComposites.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA510556
Entities
People
- Bernd J. Neudecker
- Martin H. Benson