A General Approach to Electrical Vehicle Battery Remanufacturing System Design

One of the major difficulties electrical vehicle (EV) industry facing today is the production and lifetime cost of battery packs. Studies show that using remanufactured batteries can dramatically lower the cost. The major difference between remanufacturing and traditional manufacturing is the supply and demand variabilities and uncertainties differences. The returned core for remanufacturing operations (supply side) can vary considerably in terms of the time of returns and the quality of returned products. On the other hand, because different contracts can be used to regulate suppliers, it is almost always assumed zero uncertainty and variability for traditional manufacturing systems. Similarly, customers demand traditional manufacturers to sell newly produced products in constant high quality. But, remanufacturers usually sell in aftermarket, and the quality of the products demanded can vary depends on the price range, usage, customer segment and many other factors. The key is to match supply and demand side variabilities so the overlapping between them can be maximized. Because of these differences, a new framework is needed for remanufacturing system design. This research aims at developing a new approach to use remanufactured battery packs to fulfill EV warranties and customer aftermarket demands and to match supply and demand side variabilities. First, a market lifetime EV battery return (supply side) forecasting method is develop, and it is validated using Monte Carlo simulation. Second, a discrete event simulation method is developed to estimate EV battery lifetime cost for both customer and manufacturer/remanufacturer. Third, a new remanufacturing business model and a simulation framework are developed so both the quality and quantity aspects of supply and demand can be altered and the lifetime cost for both customer and manufacturer/remanufacturer can be minimized. The business models and methodologies developed in this dissertation provide managerial insights to benefit both the manufacturer/remanufacturer and customers in EV industry. Many findings and methodologies can also be readily used in other remanufacturing settings. The effectiveness of the proposed models is illustrated and validated by case studies.PHDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143955/1/xrliang_1.pd

Thermal Characteristics and Safety Aspects of Lithium-Ion Batteries: An In-Depth Review

This paper provides an overview of the significance of precise thermal analysis in the context of lithium-ion battery systems. It underscores the requirement for additional research to create efficient methodologies for modeling and controlling thermal properties, with the ultimate goal of enhancing both the safety and performance of Li-ion batteries. The interaction between temperature regulation and lithium-ion batteries is pivotal due to the intrinsic heat generation within these energy storage systems. A profound understanding of the thermal behaviors exhibited by lithium-ion batteries, along with the implementation of advanced temperature control strategies for battery packs, remains a critical pursuit. Utilizing tailored models to dissect the thermal dynamics of lithium-ion batteries significantly enhances our comprehension of their thermal management across a wide range of operational scenarios. This comprehensive review systematically explores diverse research endeavors that employ simulations and models to unravel intricate thermal characteristics, behavioral nuances, and potential runaway incidents associated with lithium-ion batteries. The primary objective of this review is to underscore the effectiveness of employed characterization methodologies and emphasize the pivotal roles that key parameters—specifically, current rate and temperature—play in shaping thermal dynamics. Notably, the enhancement of thermal design systems is often more feasible than direct alterations to the lithium-ion battery designs themselves. As a result, this thermal review primarily focuses on the realm of thermal systems. The synthesized insights offer a panoramic overview of research findings, with a deeper understanding requiring consultation of specific published studies and their corresponding modeling endeavors

Business Ecosystem and Stakeholders’ Role Transformation: Evidence from China’s Emerging Electric Vehicle Industry

Nurturing an emerging industry’s business ecosystem always requires stakeholders’ efforts and role transformation. By systematically reviewing and studying the evolution of the Chinese electric vehicle industry, this paper constructs a three-dimensional theoretical framework including stages of business ecosystem lifecycle, stakeholder classification and functional roles, to analyse the transformation both of different stakeholders and their functional roles. The findings show that business ecosystem stakeholders have experienced role transformation following a mechanism defined as the ‘Triple Oscillation’ Model during the evolution of the emerging industry. These findings also help develop a conceptual model of agent-based system for business ecosystem evolution, which could be a starting point for further emerging industry study

Elektrokeemilise voogkondensaatori arendamine ja optimiseerimine

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneElektrokeemiline voogkondensaator (EFC) on kontseptuaalne lahendus elektrienergia mastaapseks salvestamiseks. Kõnealune seade sarnaneb tööpõhimõttelt superkondensaatorile, aga olulise erinevusena kasutab tahkete elektroodide asemel süsniniku mikro ja nano-osakestest ning elektrolüüdist koosnevat suspensiooni. Elektrolüüdiga suspensioon on eraldatud poorse, ioonjuhtiva membraaniga ja seadmes on tüüpiliselt mõne millimeetrilise diameetriga kanalid, mille sein on voolkollektoriks ning millest pumbatakse läbi eelpool kirjeldatud suspensiooni. Just nimelt süsinikupõhiste vedelate elektroodide kasutamine võimaldab arendatavat seadet olulisel määral skaleerida ning tulevikus integreerida olemasolevatesse elektrivõrkudesse ja/või rakendada seda efektiivselt taastuvate energiaallikate poolt toodetud elektrienergia salvestamiseks. Doktoritöö keskseks eesmärgiks on EFC-tehnoloogia fundamentaalsete omaduste interpreteerimine. Sellest tulenevalt on töös on läbi viidud EFC elektrokeemilised karakteriseerimised ja arvutisimulatsioonid seadme disainlahenduste optimeerimiseks. Simulatsioonide valdkonnas on sobitatud EFC modelleerimiseks nii olemasolevaid elektrokeemilisi mudeled kui on arendatud ka uudne nn stohhastiline Monte-Carlo põhimõtetel baseeruv mudel. Väljatöötatud mudelid kalibreeriti ja valideeriti põhjalikult võrdluses elektrokeemiliste tulemustega ning neid kasutati voogelektroodide laadimisprotsessi sügavamaks mõistmiseks kolmes fundamentaalses EFC-seadme konstruktsioonis. Sarnaste elektrokeemiliste seadmete modelleerimiseks kasutatakse tihti Nernst-Planki võrranditel või kontsentreeritud lahuse teooriatel baseeruvaid mudeleid. Luuakse teist järku osatuletsitega diferentsiaalvõrrandite süsteemid, mis kirjeldavad nii ioonide kontsentratsioone kui ka seadmes tekkivaid laenguülekande protsesse. Nende mudelite rakendamine iseloomustas ilmekalt difusiooni tõttu seadmes tekkivaid laengu salvestamise ja osakeste transpordi piiranguid. Efektiivne elektroodimaterjali tsirkulatsioon ning piisavalt kiire laengu transport on teineteisele vastanduvad protsessid – kui esimesel juhul on oluliseks näitajaks piisavalt suur elektroodi voolukanalite diameeter, siis teisel juhul on nõutav just nimelt sama kanali diameetri minimiseerimine. Samas ilmnes eksperimentaalsest tulemustest, et mitte ainult difusioonist tingitud nähtused pole olulised, vaid märkimisväärset mõju omavad ka nn kõrvalreaktsioonid. Töö käigus loodud stohhastiline mudel võimaldas saavutada edukalt elektrokeemiliste mõõtmistulemuste ning Nernst-Planki võrranditel baseeruvate mudelitega leitud tulemuste kokkulangevuse. Enamgi, loodud stohhastiline mudel võimaldab edukalt simuleerida vedelate elektroodide laadumise dünaamikat ja kirjeldada suspensioonis asetleidvaid protsesse ning hinnata kõrvalreaktsioonide mõjusid. Kokkuvõtvalt avab loodud lähenemisviis võimaluse leidmaks lahendust voogkondensaatori disaini kesksele probleemile – kuidas tagada seadmest piisav elektroodimaterjali läbivool ning samas hoiduda laengu transpordi limiteerimisest difusiooni tõttu. EFC-tehnoloogia edasise arengu puhul võib eeldada taastuvatest allikatest toodetud energia salvestamisvõimsuse märkimisväärset kasvu. Samas tuleb lisada, et EFC võimsustiheduse parandamiseks, ilma et see kahjustaks nende seadmete energiatihedust ning tsükleeritavust, on vaja jälgida arenduste kooskõla ka muude energiasalvestus- ja muundamis-tehnoloogiatega. Olulisteks faktoriteks on nii seadme töötingimuste valik, elektroodide disain, elektrolüüdi materjalid, kuid samuti ka sobilikud katalüsaatorid.An electrochemical flow capacitor (EFC) is a conceptual approach to meet large-scale electricity storage. This device is similar in operation to a supercapacitor but uses a concentrated solution of carbon micro and nanoparticles and an electrolyte instead of solid electrodes. It typically flows in channels with a diameter of a few millimeters, the wall of which is a flow collector and through which the liquid electrode material is pumped. A porous ion-conducting membrane separates the electrodes. Using carbon-based liquid electrodes in the device under development will allow the technology to be significantly scaled up and integrated into existing electricity grids and used effectively to support renewable energy production. The central goal of the work presented is to understand the fundamental properties of EFC technology. As a result, EFC laboratory tests and computer simulations have been performed to design and optimize the device architecture. In the field of simulations, both existing electrochemical models have been adapted for EFC modeling, and a new stochastic model based on Monte-Carlo principles has been developed. Both implemented and developed models were thoroughly calibrated and validated against laboratory experiments and used to understand the flow electrode charging process in three fundamental EFC device designs. Models based on Nernst-Planck equations or concentrated solution theories are often used to model similar electrochemical devices. Second-order differential equations systems with partial derivatives describe both the ion concentrations and the charge exchange processes occurring in the device. The application of these models was characterized by the limitations of charge storage and transport processes in the device due to diffusion. If the electrode material circulation and sufficiently fast charge transport are critical processes, then a sufficiently large diameter of the electrode flow channels is important. Otherwise, it is necessary to minimize the diameter of the same channel. At the same time, the experimental work showed that the phenomena caused by diffusion are critical side effects and have a significant effect on electrode charging processes. The models based on the Nernst-Planck equations and the stochastic model developed successfully matched the experimental results. Moreover, the developed stochastic model allows to simulate the convection and mixing processes of liquid electrodes successfully and to apply the effects of side reactions. Thus, the developed approach opens the possibility to find a solution to the central problem of the flow capacitor design - how to ensure sufficient flow of electrode material from the device and at the same time avoid limiting the transport of charge due to diffusion. Due to the development of EFC technology, a significant increase in the storage capacity of energy from renewable sources can be expected. At the same time, to improve the power density of EFCs without compromising their high energy density and cyclicality, it is necessary to monitor the coherence of developments with other energy storage and conversion technologies. Important factors are the choice of operating conditions of the device, the design of the electrodes, the materials of the electrolyte, as well as suitable catalysts.https://www.ester.ee/record=b549496

Miten teollisen internetin sovellukset voivat kehittyä alustoiksi: case-analyysi pohjautuen kolmeen nykyiseen ratkaisuun

The number of smart products connected to the Internet is constantly rising which generates a need for encompassing systems for the control of these products and the data produced by them. For this purpose, multiple companies are introducing various software solutions, which are competing for the status of an industry standard. This study explores what kind for functionalities the software solutions for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) currently provide and how they conform to the concepts presented in the platform literature. The study is conducted as a qualitative case study, which focuses on three existing software solutions: Siemens MindSphere, IBM Watson IoT and GE Predix. The results of the study suggest that the implementation of IIoT software solutions is still in its early phases and the application domain is mostly proprietary and company specific. IIoT software users are discovered to be very protective towards their data, which seems to be the main obstacle preventing IIoT solutions to fully advantage the platform business model.Internetiin kytkettyjen älykkäiden laitteiden määrä kasvaa jatkuvasti, mikä luo tarpeen kattaville järjestelmille, jotka kykenevät sekä ohjaamaan näitä laitteita että varastoimaan ja käsittelemään niiden synnyttämää dataa. Useat yritykset ovat tuoneet markkinoille kyseiseen tarkoitukseen soveltuvia ohjelmistoratkaisuja, jotka kilpailevat määräävästä markkina-asemasta. Tämä tutkimus pohtii, minkälaisia toiminnallisuuksia nykyiset teollisen esineiden internetin hallintaan tarkoitetut ohjelmistot tarjoavat sekä miten nämä ohjelmistot mukautuvat alustakirjallisuudessa esitettyihin käsitteisiin. Tutkimus on toteutettu kvalitatiivisena case-analyysina, jonka keskiössä on kolme olemassa olevaa ohjelmistoratkaisua: Siemens MindSphere, IBM Watson IoT ja GE Predix. Tehtyjen havaintojen perusteella voidaan todeta, että teollisen esineiden internetin ohjelmistoratkaisut ovat edelleen alkutekijöissään ja olemassa olevat sovellukset on pääosin kehitetty yksittäisten yritysten tarpeisiin. Ohjelmistoratkaisujen käyttäjät suojelevat omistamaansa dataa erittäin tarkasti, mikä näyttäisi toistaiseksi estävän alustapohjaisten bisnesmallien rakentamisen kyseisten ohjelmistojen ympärille

Li-ion batteries monitoring for electrified vehicles applications

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Consumer uptake of digital low-carbon innovations

Digitalisation is transforming the consumer landscape. Digitally-enabled mobility, food provision, domestic living, and energy supply can help reduce carbon emissions. We use stated preference data from a nationally-representative sample in the UK (n=3014) to understand consumer adoption of 13 digital low-carbon innovations across mobility, food, homes and energy domains. Using diffusion of innovations as our analytical framework, we test three main adoption drivers: adopter characteristics, social influence, and innovation attributes. We use blocks of variables measuring each adoption driver as predictors in logit models that distinguish adopters from non-adopters. We focus our analysis on adoption drivers that are significant and consistent predictors of digital innovation adoption across different contexts.Compared to non-adopters, we find that early adopters of digital low-carbon innovations are more likely to be younger, in employment, living in multi-person households, digitally skilful, environmentally active, and technologically active. We also find that early adopters are more exposed to inter-personal information flows (i.e., social influence), use social media more intensively, and perceive the innovations to offer higher relative advantage over current practices, be easy to use, be more compatible both with their values and their lifestyles. These drivers of adoption hold across mobility, food, homes and energy-related innovations, so can be translated into generalisable strategies, policies, and interventions for stimulating consumer uptake of digital low-carbon innovations. Although our data collection specifically characterises adopters and non-adopters in the UK, the innovations in our sample are increasingly available in markets worldwide so our findings have broad applicability

Sustainable business model perspectives for the electric vehicle industry : the case of battery second use

The purpose of this doctoral research dissertation is to examine sustainable business model (SBM) perspectives for the rapidly developing Battery Second Use (B2U) market within the emerging electric vehicle (EV) industry. Previous research has shown that a global mass market adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is still hindered by the high costs of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Repurposing degraded EV batteries in second use applications holds the potential to reduce first-cost impediments of EVs. The research on new business models is limited. The ones that emerge rapidly within the EV and battery second use (B2U) industries focus mainly on economic aspects without integrating social and environmental dimensions. Simultaneously, the emerging research topic around sustainable business models (SBMs) seem to be able to bridge the environmental management concerns in conjunction with economic and social changes.This thesis further develops and extends extant literature by addressing this paucity through offering an interdisciplinary approach by drawing upon key perspectives from the emerging sustainable technology of EVs and its underlying B2U market in relation to SBMs. The research entails both, qualitative and quantitative assessments, to examine the correlation between SBMs and B2U. Major results indicate that B2U has led to innovative cross-sectoral multi stakeholder business relationships, particularly relevant for the previously isolated automotive and energy markets that are now investigating the full potential of second life batteries and hence new business opportunities for the first time in history. B2U holds the potential to facilitate current unsustainable practices in the EV industry. This in turn, will lead towards a faster EV market uptake and improvements of overall sustainability performance through SBM perspectives. Therefore, it was discovered that prospective innovative business models for B2U, which take a multi-stakeholder network centric business model design rather than firm-centric one, may prove to be a viable business case for sustainability. It was further unearthed that B2U leads to shared sustainable value creation mechanism for the EV industry (and newly emerging stakeholders) as part of innovative SBMs. Therefore, this doctoral dissertation proposes a new B2U innovative business model framework that records and explains the stakeholder relationships as an innovative and forming phenomenon, as well as opens new roads for future discussion among researchers and practitioners. This doctoral dissertation has addressed a paucity and inter-disciplinary literature gap and met an industrial and academic need accordingly. Overall, a new research stream emerges on SBMs for EV B2U and it is hoped that more contributions will follow to increase the impact and value of sustainable waste & resource management and the circular economy.El propósito de esta tesis doctoral de investigación, es examinar las diferentes perspectivas de los "Sustainable Business Models" (SBMs) para el mercado de "Battery Second Use" (B2U) ya que este se está desarrollando rápidamente dentro de la industria emergente del vehículo eléctrico (EV). Investigaciones anteriores han demostrado que la aceptación de vehículos eléctricos (EV) en el mercado mundial todavía se ve obstaculizada por los altos costes de las baterías de iones de litio (LIBs). La reutilización de baterías usadas de vehículos eléctricos (EV) en aplicaciones de "segundo uso" (B2U) tiene el potencial de reducir el alto coste de EV en la actualidad. La investigación de nuevos modelos de negocio es limitada. Los modelos que emergen rápidamente dentro de la industria tanto de EV como B2U se enfocan principalmente en aspectos económicos, sin tener en cuenta la importancia de la sociedad y del medio ambiente. Simultáneamente, la investigación en el nuevo campo de los SBMs parece ser capaz de encontrar la solución a las preocupaciones de la gestión medio ambiental a la vez que los cambios económicos y sociales. Esta tesis desarrolla y extiende aún más la literatura interdisciplinaria existente al abordar esta escasez y al ofrecer un enfoque interdisciplinario aprovechando las perspectivas claves de la tecnología sostenible emergente EV y su mercado B2U subyacente en relación con SBM. La investigación implica evaluaciones cualitativas y cuantitativas, para examinar la correlación entre SBMs y B2U. Los principales resultados indican que B2U ha conducido a nuevas relaciones comerciales en múltiples sectores y entre diferentes partes interesadas ("stakeholders"), particularmente relevante para los mercados automotrices y de energía que ahora están investigando todo el potencial de las baterías de segunda vida y, por lo tanto, nuevas oportunidades comerciales por primera vez en la historia. B2U tiene el potencial de facilitar las prácticas actuales no sostenibles en la industria de vehículos eléctricos. Esto, a su vez, conducirá a una adopción más rápida del mercado de vehículos eléctricos y a mejoras del rendimiento general de sostenibilidad a través de las perspectivas de SBMs. Por lo tanto, se ha descubierto que los posibles modelos de negocio innovadores para B2U que se basen en un modelo de negocio centrado en la red de múltiples partes interesadas en lugar del modelo centrado en una empresa podría ser un caso de negocio viable para asegura la sostenibilidad. Además, se ha descubierto que B2U conduce a un mecanismo de creación de valor sostenible compartido en la industria de vehículos eléctricos (y las nuevas partes interesadas emergentes) como parte de SBM innovadores. Por lo tanto, esta tesis doctoral propone un nuevo modelo de negocio innovador de B2U que registra y explica las relaciones con las partes interesadas como un fenómeno innovador y formador, así como abrir nuevos caminos para una futura discusión entre investigadores y profesionales. Esta tesis doctoral ha abordado una brecha de escasez y literatura interdisciplinaria y ha respondido a una necesidad industrial y académica en consecuencia. En general, surge un nuevo flujo de investigación sobre SBM para EV B2U y se espera que se sigan aportando más contribuciones para aumentar el impacto y el valor de la gestión sostenible de residuos y la economía circular.Postprint (published version

Service-Oriented Process Models in Telecommunication Business

The thesis concentrates on to evaluate challenges in the business process management and the need for Service-oriented process models in telecommunication business to alleviate the integration work efforts and to reduce total costs of ownership. The business aspect concentrates on operations and business support systems which are tailored for communication service providers. Business processes should be designed in conformance with TeleManagement Forum's integrated business architecture framework. The thesis rationalizes the need to transform organizations and their way of working from vertical silos to horizontal layers and to understand transformational efforts which are needed to adopt a new strategy. Furthermore, the thesis introduces service characterizations and goes deeper into technical requirements that a service compliant middleware system needs to support. At the end of the thesis Nokia Siemens Networks proprietary approach – Process Automation Enabling Suite is introduced, and finally the thesis performs two case studies. The first one is Nokia Siemens Networks proprietary survey which highlights the importance of customer experience management and the second one is an overall research study whose results have been derived from other public surveys covering application integration efforts