Mixing in a liquid metal electrode

• Main Authors: Kelley, Douglas H. (Author), Sadoway, Donald Robert (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics (AIP), 2014-12-10T22:07:05Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 Fluid mixing has first-order importance for many engineering problems in mass transport, including design and optimization of liquid-phase energy storage devices. Liquid metal batteries are currently being commercialized as a promising and economically viable technology for large-scale energy storage on worldwide electrical grids. But because these batteries are entirely liquid, fluid flow and instabilities may affect battery robustness and performance. Here we present estimates of flow magnitude and ultrasound measurements of the flow in a realistic liquid metal electrode. We find that flow does substantially affect mass transport by altering the electrode mixing time. Above a critical electrical current density, the convective flow organizes and gains speed, which promotes transport and would yield improved battery efficiency.