Xu Wins Best Student Paper Award at ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference

Mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Chu Xu won the Best Student Paper Award at this year’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. The paper, “Parameter Identification and Sensitivity Analysis for Zero-Dimensional Multi-Physics Lithium-Sulfur Battery Models,” examined the challenges of estimating the parameters of a physics-based lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery model from experimental cycling data of lab-fabricated prototype coin cells.

Xu’s work analyzed the sensitivity of simulated Li-S battery charge/discharge characteristics to underlying model parameters. Using this sensitivity analysis, Xu selected a subset of model parameters for identification, and recommended the model with the best parameter identification performance for the control-oriented application.

Xu earned her M.S. (2019) in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. She is pursuing her Ph.D. under Professor Hosam Fathy in the Control and Optimization Lab. Her research interests include optimal transmission control and optimal control of energy storage systems. In her research, she is examining the modeling, parameter identification, state estimation and optimal control of Li-S batteries.

“Chu’s research is part of a community-wide effort to bridge some of the gaps between the disciplines of electrochemistry versus dynamic system modeling, estimation and control,” Fathy added. “Doing this kind of interdisciplinary work takes a lot of resources, including the support of a team of collaborators, access to labs and funds supporting this kind of work. The support of our collaborators, as well as the generous funding from both the National Science Foundation and the Mechanical Engineering Department at Maryland has been crucial for her success, and we both truly appreciate it.”

Published October 9, 2020