Robotic Disassembly of Electric Vehicles’ Battery Modules for Recycling

Ian Kay, Siamak Farhad, Ajay Mahajan, Roja Esmaeeli and Sayed Reza Hashemi
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Ian Kay: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
Siamak Farhad: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
Ajay Mahajan: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
Roja Esmaeeli: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
Sayed Reza Hashemi: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-14

Abstract: Manual disassembly of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) modules of electric vehicles (EVs) for recycling is time-consuming, expensive, and dangerous for technicians or workers. Dangers associated with high voltage and thermal runaway make a robotic system suitable for the automated or semi-automated disassembly of EV batteries. In this paper, we explore battery disassembly using industrial robots. To understand the disassembly process, human workers were monitored, and the operations were analyzed and broken down into gripping and cutting operations. These operations were selected for automation, and path planning was performed offline. For the gripper, a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control system was implemented. A system identification method was also implemented in the form of a batch least squares estimator to form the state space representation of the planar linkages used in the control strategy of the gripper. A high-speed rotary cut-off wheel was adapted for the robot to perform precise cutting at various points in the battery module case. The simulation results were used to program an industrial robot for experimental validation. The precision of the rotary cutter allowed for a more direct disassembly method as opposed to the standard manual method. It was shown that the robot was almost twice as fast in cutting but slower in pick and place operations. It has been shown that the best option for disassembly of a LIB pack is a human–robot collaboration, where the robot could make efficient cuts on the battery pack and the technician could quickly sort the battery components and remove connectors or fasteners with which the robot would struggle. This collaboration also reduces the danger encountered by the technician because the risk of shorting battery cells while cutting would be eliminated, but the time efficiency would be significantly improved. This paper demonstrates that a robot offers both safety and time improvements to the current manual disassembly process for EV LIBs.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery; recycling; robots; automation; electric/hybrid vehicles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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