A Physics-Informed Fourier Neural Operator Framework for Zero-Plating Fast Charging of Lithium-Ion Batteries via Real-Time Electrochemical State Estimation and Barrier-Riding Optimal Control
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Extreme fast charging of lithium-ion batteries is critically limited by internal lithium plating at the negative electrode-separator interface, driving rapid degradation and thermal hazards. Real-time mitigation is fundamentally impeded because the interfacial plating overpotential (ηplating) is inaccessible to non-invasive sensors, leaving conventional protocols blind to metallic lithium deposition. While high-fidelity Doyle–Fuller–Newman (DFN) models resolve these dynamics, their computational cost (∼ 8 s) precludes embedded closed-loop control, whereas empirical equivalent circuit models lack the spatial resolution to detect plating. To resolve this trade-off, we develop a physics-informed 1D Fourier Neural Operator (FNO-1D) surrogate incorporating an explicit cumulative charge integral Q(t) = ∫ I dt to preserve mass conservation. Trained on 7,771 continuum DFN trajectories, the surrogate achieves a 4, 349× speedup (1.84 ms inference) with high fidelity (V RMSE = 5.40 mV, η plating , RMSE = 2.24 mV). Coupled with an Ensemble Smoother with Multiple Data Assimilation (ESMDA), the framework filters sensor noise (±10 mV to 5.94 mV) and reconstructs unobservable plating dynamics (RMSE = 4.12 mV, 95% CI = ±3.22 mV), establishing continuous closed-loop observability. A Barrier-Riding Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) policy then maximizes charging current along the degradation boundary. Across a 10% - 80% SOC window, it cuts charging time by 21.7% (33.7 min vs. 43.0 min CC-CV)while strictly preventing lithium plating (η plating ≥ +14.81 mV > +5.0 mV), limiting peak temperature to 38.5◦C, and decreasing SEI growth by 21.5%. Finally, transferability is experimentally validated across two phys ical cycler benchmarks: cross-chemistry transfer on Oxford pouch cells, and chemistry-matched validation on commercial RWTH Aachen Sanyo 18650 NMCcells, achieving a terminal voltage tracking RMSE of 33.02 mV (86.0% error reduction over zero-shot transfer) providing an experimentally grounded paradigm for degradation-free fast charging.
Source: ChemRxiv
Author: Hussnain Tariq
Institution: Islamia University of Bahawalpur
Language: English
Subfield: Automotive Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223178791