Dan Zenkert

Dan Zenkert
KTH Royal Institute of Technology | KTH · Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering

Professor

About

140
Publications
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5,405
Citations

Publications

Publications (140)
Article
Carbon fibre based structural batteries combine energy storage and mechanical load transfer into a single material. Multifunctional materials as such are attractive alternatives to today's state-of-the-art monofunctional batteries, particularly in mobile applications where the battery pack constitutes parasitic weight that decreases range. Structur...
Article
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Tow-cased discontinuous composites are an attractive alternative material to conventional continuous composites as they offer in-plane isotropy, enhanced manufacturability allowing to achieve complex 3D shapes with high curvatures and local reinforcement in critical areas, while also maintaining high strength and stiffness, therefore expanding the...
Article
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Most products today have several functions, but these are achieved by integrating different monofunctional devices and/or materials in a system. Having several functions simultaneously in one single material has many potential advantages, such as a structural material that can also store energy, have self-sensing or self-healing capability or any o...
Article
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Carbon fibre based electrodes offer the potential to significantly improve the combined electrochemical and mechanical performance of structural batteries in future electrified transport. This review compares carbon fibre based electrodes...
Article
A multifunctional lightweight material combines several functions in a single material entity able to simultaneously bear mechanical loads by acting as a carbon fibre composite component while providing one or more other functionalities at the same time, e.g. storing energy. Carbon fibres are particularly attractive as they can be used both as a hi...
Article
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Tow Based Discontinuous Composites (TBDCs) are a new class of composite materials which combine in-plane isotropy, high strength and stiffness and enhanced manufacturability. However, due to their complicated micro-architecture, characterising the performance of these materials and predicting their response is challenging. This work develops a comp...
Article
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This study investigates the viability of implementing multifunctional structural power composites in a four-seater air taxi, the CityAirbus. For a given specific energy of the power source, the cruise endurance can be approximately doubled by using structural power composites as opposed to conventional batteries. Replacing all the eligible composit...
Article
Carbon fibers have been in focus within the last decades in designing and constructing lightweight structures. They can be used in a large range of applications such as clothing, transportation gadget, sports materials, as well as in more unusual applications such as batteries. Their mechanical functionality in addition to good electrochemical and...
Article
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Multifunctional structural materials are capable of reducing system level mass and increasing efficiency in load-carrying structures. Materials that are capable of harvesting energy from the surrounding environment are advantageous for autonomous electrically powered systems. However, most energy harvesting materials are non-structural and add para...
Article
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Structural carbon fibre composite batteries are a type of multifunctional batteries that combine the energy storage capability of a battery with the load-carrying ability of a structural material. To extract the current from the structural battery cell, current collectors are needed. However, current collectors are expensive, hard to connect to the...
Patent
Full-text available
A battery cell includes an anode, a cathode, and a separator between the anode and the cathode, wherein at least one of the anode or the cathode includes at least a carbon fiber ply comprising carbon fibers, the carbon fiber ply having a thickness of less than 90 micrometers. Also disclosed are a battery and an aircraft including such battery cell,...
Article
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Electric Vehicles In article number 2000093 by Leif E. Asp and co‐workers, renewable electrical energy stored in the body‐in‐white and interior panels of future electric cars. Structural batteries made from carbon fiber‐reinforced composites reduce vehicle weight to increase efficiency and driving range.
Article
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Engineering materials that can store electrical energy in structural load paths can revolutionize lightweight design across transport modes. Stiff and strong batteries that use solid‐state electrolytes and resilient electrodes and separators are generally lacking. Herein, a structural battery composite with unprecedented multifunctional performance...
Article
The structural battery concept was first introduced in 2004 by Wetzel et.al [1]. In general, approximately 60% of a total cell is the active material and the rest is dead mass such as casing, current collectors, additives, etc. The desire to develop safe, environmentally friendly, and more competitive electric vehicles give rise to a new type of mu...
Article
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By increasing the number of functions a structure performs it is possible to save weight and volume on a systems level. Ion-insertion in carbon fibres (CFs) is a way to create multifunctional structures for energy storage, morphing, and strain-sensing. Previous studies have focussed on lithium-and sodium-insertion to create multifunctionality. Howe...
Article
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The development of multifunctional materials and structures is receiving increasing interest for many applications and industries; it is a promising way to increase system-wide efficiency and improve the ability to meet environmental targets. However, quantifying the advantages of a multifunctional solution over monofunctional systems can be challe...
Article
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Structures that are capable of changing shape can increase efficiency in many applications, but are often heavy and maintenance intensive. To reduce the mass and mechanical complexity solid-state morphing materials are desirable but are typically nonstructural and problematic to control. Here we present an electrically controlled solid-state morphi...
Article
Structural batteries can simultaneously store electrical energy and carry mechanical load, being similar to both laminated carbon fiber composites and lithium ion batteries. The matrix in a structural battery must both conduct ions and transfer load between the fibers, made possible with a phase-separated combination of a solid polymer and a liquid...
Article
This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in structural battery composites research. Structural battery composites are a class of structural power composites aimed to provide mass-less energy storage for electrically powered structural systems. Structural battery composites are made from carbon fibres in a structural electr...
Article
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With increasing interest in reducing fossil fuel emissions, more and more development is focused on electric mobility. For electric vehicles, the main challenge is the mass of the batteries, which significantly increase the mass of the vehicles and limits their range. One possible concept to solve this is incorporating structural batteries; a struc...
Article
Traditional Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are dominating the battery market where the energy density is very important. However, there is still potential for improvements. Normally, around 60% of the total cell is the active material whereas the rest is the weight of current collectors, casing, additives, etc [1].The structural battery concept was f...
Article
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Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are emerging as an alternative battery technology to lithium ion batteries because they have the potential of having a similar energy density and the advantage of sodium being more environmentally friendly than lithium. Hard carbon has been shown to be one of the best candidates as anode material for SIBs. However, sever...
Article
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Structural batteries (SB) are a growing research subject worldwide. The idea is to provide massless energy by using a multifunctional material i.e. structural battery. This technology can provide a new pathway in electrification and offer different design opportunities and significant weight savings in vehicle applications. The type of SB discussed...
Article
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This paper deals with the problem of face/core interfacial disbonds in sandwich panels that are pressurised, i.e. the disbond has an initial fluid pressure that causes the disbond to deform. The problem is often referred to as a blister. The panel with a blister is then subjected to an in-plane compressive load. Four different panels are analysed a...
Data
Video abstract of the paper "Graphitic microstructure and performance of carbon fibre Li-ion structural battery electrodes". You can also watch the abstract without downloading it, at http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2399-7532/aab707
Article
Full-text available
An investigation is conducted into the potential for sodiated PAN-based carbon fibers (CFs) to be used in multifunctional actuation, sensing, and energy harvesting. Axial CF expansion/contraction is measured during sodiation/desodiation using operando strain measurements. The reversible expansion/contraction is found to be 0.1% - which is lower tha...
Article
Carbon fibres (CFs), originally made for use in structural composites, have also been demonstrated as high capacity Li-ion battery negative electrodes. Consequently, CFs can be used as structural electrodes; simultaneously carrying mechanical load and storing electrical energy in multifunctional structural batteries. To date, all CF microstructural...
Article
In electric transportation there is an inherent need to store electrical energy while maintaining a low vehicle weight. One way to decrease the weight of the structure is to use composite materials. However, the electrical energy storage in today's systems contributes to a large portion of the total weight of a vehicle. Structural batteries have be...
Article
Hard carbon has been shown in many studies to be one of the best candidates for an anode material for the development of sodium ion batteries. Lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer ¹ and a byproduct of pulp and paper industry ² . Due to its high content of aromatic rings (polyphenols), lignin gives a high char yield (~40% wt.) after pyrolys...
Conference Paper
The structural battery composite is a class of composite materials with ability to provide mechanical integrity in a structural system while simultaneously store electrical energy (i.e. work as a battery). In this paper a framework to estimate the mechanical and electrical performance of laminated structural battery composites is proposed. The mech...
Article
A structural lithium ion battery is a material that can carry load and simultaneously be used to store electrical energy. We describe a path to manufacture structural positive electrodes via electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of LiFePO4 (LFP), carbon black and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) onto carbon fibers. The carbon fibers act as load-bearers as...
Article
The well-known structural properties of PAN-based carbon fibres (CFs) have previously been combined with electrochemical functionalities such as energy storage, solid-state actuation, and strain sensing. These properties have been created through lithium insertion/intercalation in the turbostratic microstructure of the CFs, with the goal of making...
Patent
Full-text available
A structural component includes a composite laminate built up of layers of carbon fibers, wherein the layers of carbon fibers are oriented in different directions and wherein the carbon fibers are surrounded by a conductive polymer resin. The carbon fibers of at least one of the layers include an electrically insulating coating, and wherein at leas...
Patent
Full-text available
A structural component includes a composite laminate built up of a plurality of layers of carbon fibres, wherein the layers of carbon fibres are oriented in different directions, wherein the carbon fibres are surrounded by a conductive polymer resin, wherein the carbon fibres of at least one of the layers comprise an electrically insulating coating...
Article
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For the realization of structural batteries, electrolytes where both higher ionic conductivity and stiffness is combined, needs to be developed. The present study describes the formation of a structural battery electrolyte (SBE) as a two phase system using reaction induced phase separation. A liquid electrolyte phase is combined with a stiff vinyl...
Article
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In order to aid design of future structural battery components an analytical model is developed for modelling volume expansions in laminated structural batteries. Volume expansions are caused by lithium ion intercalation in carbon fibre electrodes. An extended version of Classical Lamination Plate Theory (CLPT) is used to allow analysis of unbalanc...
Article
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Corrugated sandwich beams made entirely from self-reinforced poly (ethylene terephthalate) SrPET are manufactured and tested dynamically. The beams are subjected to impact loading at the mid-span using a metal foam projectile and the beam deflection is measured. For sandwich beams with a constant areal mass, beams with a high mass portion in the co...
Article
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Abstract Weight reduction is commonly adopted in vehicle design as a means for energy and emissions savings. However, selection of lightweight materials is often focused on performance characteristics, which may lead to sub optimizations of life cycle environmental impact. Therefore systematic material selection processes are needed that integrate...
Article
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To make carbon fiber composites not only weight but also cost effective in high volume production the different cost drivers need to be addressed and new design philosophies considered. This study analyzes integral and differential design approaches when partitioning large complex composite structures. The influence of different partition philosoph...
Article
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The introduction of carbon fibre composites into the high volume automotive sector challenges the design process, since these components not only need to be light but also producible in a cost-efficient manner. One way forward is to introduce manufacturing constraints into the design process, but such constraints affect the freedom of design and op...
Article
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The mechanical and electrochemical properties are coupled through a piezo-electrochemical effect in Li-intercalated carbon fibres. It is demonstrated that this piezo-electrochemical effect makes it possible to harvest electrical energy from mechanical work. Continuous polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibres that can work both as electrodes for Li-ion...
Article
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A method for the early concept phase is proposed, which is aimed at limiting the financial and performance-related risks when designing a carbon fibre composite automotive body structure. The method manages the structural requirements imposed on the complete body structure and analyses the suitability of different carbon fibre material systems and...
Article
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In order to decrease the weight of the automotive body structure and increase the energy efficiency of future cars, attention is now turning towards structural composites, mainly carbon fibre-reinforced plastics. Composites have several advantages such as their excellent weight-specific properties and the possibility to be manufactured in large int...
Article
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A novel manufacturing route to efficiently produce fibre composite lattice structures has been developed. By using thermoplastic composite materials, flat sheets have been continuously folded, cut into a lattice shape and joined into a sandwich structure. Carbon fibre reinforced poly-ethylene terephthalate (CPET) and poly-ethylene terephthalate fib...
Conference Paper
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The business case needs to be improved in order to make carbon fibre composites useful for the automotive industry. It is often claimed that one of composite greatest advantages over metals is the ability to be manufactured in large complex integral geometries. By reducing the number of tools and avoiding or minimising the assembly processes, an in...
Article
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An optimisation methodology is developed and applied on a FRP sandwich body of an electric vehicle – ZBee, where single-objective and multi-objective optimisation studies are performed stepwise using a commercially available software package. The single-objective optimisation allows the identification of the load paths within the composite body, ac...
Article
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Carbon fibres (CFs) can work as lightweight structural electrodes in CF-reinforced composites able to store energy as lithium (Li)-ion batteries. The CF has high stiffness and strength-to-weight ratios and a carbonaceous microstructure which enables Li intercalation. An innovative in situ technique for studying the longitudinal expansion of the CF...
Article
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Carbon fibres (CFs) can be used as lightweight structural electrodes since they have high specific tensile stiffness and ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and high lithium (Li)-intercalation capability. This paper investigates the relationship between the amount of intercalated Li and the changes induced in the tensile stiffness and UTS of polyacryl...
Article
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A straightforward procedure to predict bearing strength in bolted composite structures has been developed. The method is based on a finite element analysis, using structural elements, followed by a post-processing procedure. Bolt-hole clearance, friction between member plates, fastener clamp-up and fastener deformation is accounted for. Forces calc...
Article
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In this paper we have conducted experiments to investigate the coupling between electrochemical and mechanical properties of lithium (Li)-intercalating carbon fibres (CFs). The results show promising potential for new functionalities of CFs for electrochemical actuation, sensing and energy harvesting. Li-intercalation at 1 C-rate in CFs subjected t...
Article
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A methodology was developed that allowed the cost efficient design of composite aircraft structures. In earlier work, a cost/weight optimisation framework had been presented. This framework was now enhanced by a module that minimised the manufacturing cost in each iteration by the adaptation of manufacturing parameters. The proposed framework was m...
Article
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Tensile and compression properties of self-reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) (SrPET) composites has been investigated. SrPET composites or all-polymer composites have improved mechanical properties compared to the bulk polymer but with maintained recyclability. In contrast to traditional carbon/glass fibre reinforced composites, SrPET composi...
Article
Full-text available
Carbon fibres are particularly well suited for use in a multifunctional lightweight design of a structural composite material able to store energy as a lithium-ion battery. The fibres will in this case act as both a high performance structural reinforcement and one of the battery electrodes. However, the electrochemical cycling consists of insertio...
Article
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Structural batteries have the potential to become an integrated part of the device, functioning as both a structural element and as energy storage by combining electrochemical properties and mechanical properties in the same material. In addition, an increase of power and energy density on a system level could be achieved. The electrochemical prope...