Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Ratandeep S Kukreja

Zhongyi Liu

Anil Kumar Sachdev

Tyson W Brown

Daad B Haddad

Heewook Lee

Nicholas Paul William Pieczonka

Michael P Balogh

Ryan Curtis Sekol

Dmitriy Bruder

Thomas J Chapaton

Megan E McGovern

William Reginald Collin

Xiaosong Huang

Steven McClellan George

James R Salvador

Robert D Schmidt

Selina X Zhao

Sean R Wagner

Anusorn Kongkanand

Shaomao Xu

Erik Damon Huemiller

Tengjiao Qi

Andrew J Galant

William Osad

Misle M Tessema

Joel W Clancey

Andrew Cavanaugh

A dilatometer for measuring battery dilation including: a battery cell with a first electrode and a second electrode; an internal magnetic sensing element; and a magnetic force sensor. The internal magnetic sensing element is configured to move in response to expansion the first electrode and remain stationary in response to expansion of the second electrode during dilation of the battery cell. The magnetic force sensor is stationary relative to the battery cell and configured to sense a change in magnetic force strength between the internal magnetic sensing element and the magnetic force sensor. A controller is configured to measure dilation of the first electrode independent of dilation of the second electrode based on the change in the magnetic force strength between the internal magnetic sensing element and the magnetic force sensor.

Magnetic force dilatometer for measuring dilation of individual electrode

A brake drum having a composite structure includes a cylindrical body defining an inner friction surface and an outer surface. The cylindrical body includes a drum core comprising an Al—Si alloy, the drum core including an inner surface, and an outer surface of the drum core defining the outer surface of cylindrical body. The cylindrical body includes a thermal barrier layer comprising a thermally insulating material on the inner surface of the drum core, and a wear-resistant layer comprising an Fe—Al—Si—Zr alloy on the inner surface of the drum core over the thermal barrier layer, the wear-resistant layer defining the inner friction surface of the cylindrical body.

Composite brake drum

A method of manufacturing a brake rotor or brake drum having a composite structure includes casting an aluminum alloy to form a core of the brake rotor or brake drum, the core defining a core surface, depositing a high entropy alloy or yttrium stabilized zirconia on the core surface to form a thermal barrier layer on the core surface, and depositing an iron-aluminum-silicon-zirconium alloy on the thermal barrier layer to form a wear-resistant layer on the thermal barrier layer, the wear-resistant layer defining a friction surface of the brake rotor or brake drum.

Methods of producing composite vehicle braking components including aluminum alloys

A vehicle coolant system includes a pipe configured to facilitate a flow of vehicle coolant through the pipe, a light source configured to transmit at least one wavelength of light through the vehicle coolant, and a signal detector configured to receive at least one wavelength of light transmitted through the vehicle coolant, and to generate a signal intensity value corresponding to a measured intensity of the at least one wavelength of light received at the signal detector. A controller is configured to receive the signal intensity value from the signal detector, identify a coolant contamination threshold value corresponding to the vehicle coolant, compare the signal intensity value received from the signal detector to the coolant contamination threshold value, and initiate a vehicle coolant remedial action according to a result of comparing the signal intensity value received from the signal detector to the coolant contamination threshold value.

Vehicle coolant systems

A system for evaluating a battery cell includes an imaging device configured to take an image of at least part of the battery cell, and a processor. The processor is configured to perform: determining a region of interest in the acquired image, reducing a sharpness of the acquired image to generate a reference image, comparing the acquired image and the reference image, and identifying a discontinuity of the battery cell based on a difference between the acquired image and the reference image.

Image processing and detection of discontinuities in battery cells

A system for evaluating a battery cell includes an imaging device configured to take a first image of at least part of the battery cell when the battery cell is in a first deformation state, and take a second image of the at least part of the battery cell when the battery cell is in a second deformation state. The system also includes a processor configured to analyze the first image and the second image, identify a first region of the first image that represents a suspected discontinuity, the first region corresponding to a portion of the battery cell, compare the first region of the first image to a second region of the second image, the second region corresponding to the portion of the battery cell, and determine that the suspected discontinuity is an actual discontinuity based on a difference between the first region and the second region.

Detection of discontinuities in battery cells

A quality control system in a battery manufacturing process includes two or more capacitive measurement apparatuses to obtain a capacitance measurement from two or more intermediate products generated during the battery manufacturing process. The system also includes processing circuitry to obtain the capacitive measurement from the two or more capacitive measurement apparatuses, to determine a characteristic of the corresponding intermediate product, and to control at least one process of the battery manufacturing process that produced at least one of the two or more intermediate products based on the characteristic.

Capacitance-based quality monitoring and control in battery manufacturing

A method for detecting a contaminant in a vehicle coolant system during service includes contacting a chromophore impregnated strip and a heat transfer fluid sample, where the chromophore impregnated strip includes a complexing agent selected to form a complex with the contaminant that causes a color change in the chromophore impregnated strip and thereby indicates the presence of the contaminant in the heat transfer fluid sample.

Methods for detecting contaminations in vehicle coolant systems

A brake rotor having a composite structure may include an annular body defining opposite friction surfaces of the brake rotor. The annular body may include a core made of an Al—Si alloy, a thermal barrier layer made of a thermally insulating material disposed on the core, and a wear-resistant layer made of an Fe—Al—Si—Zr alloy disposed on the core over the thermal barrier layer. The wear-resistant layer may define a first one of the opposite friction surfaces of the annular body.

Composite brake rotor

A flash thermography device is configured to apply a flash of light to a target area on a surface of the battery cell. An imaging device is configured to capture an image of the target area subsequent to the flash of light being applied to the surface of the battery cell. A defect detection control module is configured to receive the image captured by the imaging device, analyze the image to determine whether a defect is present in the battery cell, and selectively generate and output an indication of whether the defect is present based on the analysis of the image.

Method to detect defects in battery pouch cells using angled flash thermography

Provided is a method of manufacturing a crystalline aluminum-iron-silicon alloy, and optionally an automotive component comprising the same, comprising forming a composite ingot including a plurality of crystalline phases by melting aluminum, iron, and silicon raw materials in an inert environment to form a substantially homogenous melt, subsequently solidifying the melt, and annealing the ingot under vacuum by heating at a temperature in the range of 850&#xb0; C. to 1000&#xb0; C. yield an annealed crystalline ingot wherein the predominant crystalline phase is FCC AlFeSi. The raw materials can further include one or more additives such as zinc, zirconium, tin, and chromium. Melting can occur above the FCC AlFeSi crystalline phase melting point, or at a temperature of about 1100&#xb0; C. to about 1400&#xb0; C. Annealing can occur under vacuum conditions.

Method of manufacturing a crystalline aluminum-iron-silicon alloy

A method of determining a thickness of a submicron carbon of a carbon-coated metal base plate that includes conducting Raman spectroscopy at a target location of the carbon-coated metal base plate to obtain a Raman shift spectrum for the target location. The Raman shift spectrum obtained at the target location is then converted into a calculated thickness of the submicron carbon coating at the target location. The conversion of the Raman shift spectrum into the calculated thickness of the submicron carbon coating at the target location may involve referencing a linear correlation that has been established over the defined wavenumber range between (1) an integrated intensity of a Raman carbon signal obtained from each of a series of reference plates that includes a submicron carbon coating having a verified thickness and (2) the verified thicknesses of the submicron carbon coatings of the series of reference plates.

Determining the thickness of a submicron carbon coating on a carbon-coated metal base plate using Raman spectroscopy

A coated substrate for forming fuel cell catalyst layers includes a plurality of substrate particles, an adhesion layer disposed over the substrate particles, and a precious metal layer disposed over the adhesion layer. The substrate particles may be carbon powders, carbon nanorods, carbon nanotubes and combinations thereof; with a preferred aspect ratio from 10:1 to 25:1. The adhesion layer includes a tungsten metal layer and may be formed into a heterogeneous layer comprising a lattice-interrupting layer interposed between two tungsten metal layers. The lattice-interrupting layer reduces mechanical stress to the adhesion layer with extended thickness that may develop when it experiences changing environments, and can be any layer other than the metal layer, for example, AlO, Al, or WO, where x is 1.5 to 3.0. Characteristically, the coated substrate is used in fuel cell applications such as providing the catalyst particles used in the cathode and/or anode catalyst layers.

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Warren, MI, United States of America

Ratandeep S Kukreja