Rechargeable Lithium Batteries for Powering Piezoelectric Devices

A new, rechargeable, thick-film, polymer electrolyte, lithium battery using a high-energy density cathode material (vanadium pentoxide aerogel, 350 mAh/g) has been tested in a pulse-discharge mode of operation. Three separate 12 volt batteries were pulse-discharged through a piezoelectric stack actuator. Since motion rectification devices such as linear motors operate at elevated frequencies, the batteries were pulse-discharged at 10, 100, and 500 Hz. Multiple cycle, charge/discharge data is presented for the three batteries tested in this study. Additionally, a 6 volt battery was fabricated and used to power a piezoelectric actuator patch (chirp source) that was part of a damage detection system.