As green initiatives are being implemented worldwide, there is an increasing focus on creating more efficient and eco-friendly power sources. As a result, several organizations have begun investing in energy storage.
For energy storage systems to provide optimal performance, quality batteries are used to store and feed energy. These batteries often use woven wire mesh to manage the electrode, electrolytes, and other components essential to the battery's functions.
Woven wire mesh is so widely used, as processes, such as surface alteration, can be applied to create a custom soliton that accommodates your exact needs. That said, should you be altering the surface of your mesh?
W.S. Tyler has been helping customers develop custom woven wire solutions for over 150 years. We strive to leverage this expertise to help you tailor each aspect of the material so you can work to make the world a cleaner, safer place.
With that, this article was written to highlight the ins and outs of altering the surface of your woven wire when being integrated into energy storage applications. You will learn the following:
- What it means to alter the surface of woven wire
- The ways you can alter the surface of your woven wire
- The benefits of altering the surface of woven wire mesh
- The drawbacks of altering the surface of woven wire mesh
What Does It Mean to Alter the Surface of Woven Wire Mesh?
When we hear about lettering the surface of woven wire, it refers to the process of adjusting the physical or chemical properties of the surface of the individual wires that make up a given woven wire weave. It is often done to ensure the mesh section you select is best equipped to deliver desirable results.
How Can I Alter the Surface of My Mesh?
There are many avenues you can take to treat the surface of your mesh, making it more suitable for the application. The primary methods used today are surface coating, etching, texturizing, plating, and marking.
Surface Coating
Surface coating involves adding some sort of coating, such as paint or polymer, to the surface of the mesh. Doing so brings valuable qualities like improved chemical and corrosion resistance, improved durability, and improved aesthetics.
Surface Etching
Etching involves methodically removing material from the surface of the mesh. This is done to modify the weave's roughness, texture, or porosity.
This is commonly performed when some sort of adhesion or welding process must be applied when fabricating woven wire components.
Surface Texturizing
Surface texturing involves using physical or chemical processes to add texture or patterns on the surface of the mesh. This is often employed to improve the grip of the mesh when subjected to applications where equipment slipping is a concern.
Surface Plating
Surface plating involves adding a layer of plating on the surface of the wires that is of a different material from the mesh. Plating your mesh can work to increase conductivity and corrosion and can even improve attics.
Surface Marking
Surface marking is just that, marking, labeling, or otherwise altering the surface of the mesh to enable identification. There are several ways to achieve adequate markings; however, embossing, laser etching, and printing are the most common.
How Does Altering the Surface of My Mesh Benefit Energy Storage?
Woven wire mesh, when used properly, is proven to help the structural integrity, electrolyte flow, and current distribution of the batteries used for energy storage. That said, adding the right alterations to the mesh's surface can improve electrode adhesion, reduce dendrite growth, improve gas flow, increase the electrochemical surface, and reduce side reactions.
Improved Electrode Adhesion
Properly altering the surface of woven wire can significantly increase the electrode material's ability to accumulate on the mesh. This can prove vital, especially when the efficiency of the system relies on the electrodes properly bonded to the substrate.
Dendrite Growth Reduction
It is important that you implement a means to control dendrite growth, as it can result in short circuits and premature failure. Altering the mesh surface can combat this growth by stabilizing the environment.
This ultimately helps extend the lifespan of the battery.
Improved Gas Flow
Gases are often created within energy storage batteries when charged and discharged. Woven wire with an altered surface can work to promote high volumes of gas flow, minimizing dangerous and damaging buildup.
Increased Electrochemical Surface
Applying surface treatments like etching to woven wire can help increase the surface area in which the electrochemicals within the battery can react. As a result, the battery can perform exceedingly better while its physical volume remains the same.
Side Reaction Reduction
It is relatively common for batteries with energy storage to create side reactions that are detrimental to the effective's of the battery in the long run. Utilizing a wire mesh that has an altered surface can reduce side reactions, resulting in improved performance for longer periods of time.
What Are the Drawbacks Associated with Altering the Surface of Woven Wire?
While altering the surface of your woven wire can vastly improve the performance of energy storage systems, there are naturally a handful of disadvantages that you should be aware of. Unintentional side effects, standard restrictions, cost, and contamination are all issues you must take into consideration when modifying the surface of your mesh.
Unintentional Side Effects
While altering the surface of your mesh can help you achieve a specific outcome, it can also lead the mesh to react in an undesirable way as well. A good example is seen when etching woven wire to create a specific surface texture.
When installed into a battery, the exposed material of the individual wires can react with the electrodes or electrolytes, hindering the performance of the battery.
Standard Restrictions
Regardless of what your design consists of, it is critical that your woven wire application complies with industry standards. Once you begin applying various surface alterations, you may begin to encounter instances in which your mesh deviates from standard tolerances, resulting in potential regulation and safety concerns.
This will ultimately cause more time spent redeveloping a woven wire solution.
Cost
In order to effectively alter the surface of your woven wire, complex processes must be added to the fabrication process. Naturally, these processes are not standard, which will increase the cost.
Now, because altering the surface of your mesh can become costly, it is critical that the performance delivered from the alterations warrant the additional fabrication costs.
Contamination
As listed above, there are various ways to coat or treat the surface of your woven wire. When integrated into a battery, the chemicals used or the exposed material of the wire can introduce contaminants.
These contaminants significantly increase the risk of underperformance.
Uniform Energy Flow Starts with the Right Weave Pattern
Altering the surface of woven wire entails changing the physical or chemical properties of the mesh surface using methods like surface coating, etching, texturizing, plating, and marking. Doing so can help improve electrode adhesion, reduce dendrite growth, improve gas flow, increase electrochemical surface, and reduce side reactions.
There are a lot of elements to woven wire that can be fine-tuned to reach peak performance. One of the more notable elements is the weave pattern, which is integral in the flow of electrodes and electrolytes within a battery.
Having woven tailor-made wire mesh solutions for over 150 years, W.S. Tyler is here to help guide you through your woven wire mesh journey so you can develop products that your organization can proudly stand behind.
Read the article linked below to learn more about the different weave patterns available to you and how they differ: