Intelligent ultrasound to adaptively control interfacial properties and reactions

Project Team

Principal Investigator

Wei Lu, University of Michigan Bogdan Epureanu, University of Michigan Bogdan Popa, University of Michigan

Government

Katie Sebeck, Matt Castanier, U.S. Army GVSC

Industry

Wayne Cai, General Motors

Student

Max Nyffenegger, Derek Barnes, Ganghyeok Im, University of Michigan

Project Summary

Project #3.19 began in 2022 and was completed Oct. 2025.

The capability to change interfacial properties dynamically can lead to major enhancements in the adaptability of structures and power sources of autonomous vehicles. Take batteries as an example. Ultrasound can be used to provide adaptivity by changing reaction kinetics at electrode/electrolyte interfaces. The high internal resistance caused by high intensity usage leads to reduced battery power, low usable capacity, and long charging time. The increase in internal battery resistance is related to the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI), which is composed of two distinct layers: a thin compact layer of inorganic products, and a porous amorphous outer layer of organic products. The compact layer is beneficial because it protects electrodes from further chemical reaction with the electrolyte. The outer porous layer controls the growth of the SEI which affects the internal resistance. Studies have shown that SEI is the major cause of battery power and capacity degradation.

Pouch cell schematic and Oscillating flow in electrolyte from electrode vibration

The research objective is to create an approach to actively and adaptively change interfacial properties in situ during operation. This study developed an ultrasound-enabled adaptive interface control for such systems.

We aim to address several key fundamental questions to enable this paradigm-shifting technology for the U.S. Army and broader applications:

How can vibrations affect interfacial properties of a layered structure?
Can the performance of a battery system be increased with targeted vibration?
How can targeted vibration be practically applied to an energy storage system?

To illustrate the approach, we focus on one example involving the manipulation of the SEI layer in batteries, which was shown in our past work to significantly influence the battery internal resistance and thus power capability and usable capacity (patent). However, the same approach and related tasks will be used for the other applications, namely ultrasonic joining and additive manufacturing processes.

Patent:

US12461161B2 published 2025-11-04 Publication. Acoustic Wave-based Battery Management. Inventors: Bogdan Epureanu; Ganghyeok Im; Wei Lu; Bogdan Ioan Popa

3.19

Publications:

Im, G., Barnes, D., Lu, W., Popa, B. I., & Epureanu, B. I. (2023). Ultrasound-Induced Impedance Reduction in Lithium Ion Batteries. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 170(10), 100519.
Im, G., Lu, W., Popa, B. I., & Epureanu, B. I. (2025). Ultrasound-enabled adaptive protocol for fast charging of lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage, 22(3), 031012.
Nyffenegger, M., Popa, B. I., Lu, W., & Epureanu, B. I. (2025). Dendrite Suppression by Oscillatory Electrolyte Flow Created by Electrode Vibration. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 172(12), 120535.