Safety and heat transfer optimization of lithium ion space flight satellite batteries

The thermal management of satellite batteries is a major factor in satellite design. Heat build-up due to the system being unable to dissipate the quantity of heat generated can potentially be very detrimental to some battery and component systems. To be able to maximize the heat transfer capability of the cell and battery system, we have arrived at an optimized cell aspect ratio for a 50 amp-hour lithium ion cell. We have modeled the system through the use of data collected from cycling Sony US 1865OA lithium ion cells in a Tecam TU-15 Tempunit millicalorimeter. We have also given some consideration to safety tradeoffs and risks involving manufacturability, design optimization, redundancy, and fail-safe mechanisms associated with the safest, most reliable cell possible, which will be incorporated into a space-flight-qualified battery system. (Author)