Effects of Diffusion-Induced Nonlinear Local Volume Change on the Structural Stability of NMC Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Noman Iqbal, Jinwoong Choi, Changkyu Lee, Hafiz Muhammad Uzair Ayub, Jinho Kim, Minseo Kim, Younggee Kim, Dongjae Moon, Seungjun Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Electrochemical stress induced by the charging/discharging of electrode materials strongly affects the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by regulating mechanical failures. Electrochemical stress is caused by a change in the local volume of the active materials associated with the lithium-ion concentration. The local volume change of certain active materials, such as nickel-rich LiNixMnyCozO2 (NMC), varies nonlinearly with the lithium content, which has not been considered in the stress calculations in previous studies. In this paper, the influence of nonlinear local volume change on the mechanical response of NMC-active materials is investigated numerically. The goal is achieved by using a concentration-dependent partial molar volume calculated from the previously obtained local volume change experimental results. A two-dimensional axisymmetric model was developed to perform finite element simulations by fully coupling lithium diffusion and stress generation at a single particle level. The numerical results demonstrate that (1) the global volume change of the particle evolves nonlinearly, (2) the stress response correlates with the rate of change of the active particle’s volume, and (3) stress–concentration coupling strongly affects the concentration levels inside the particle. We believe this is the first simulation study that highlights the effect of a concentration-dependent partial molar volume on diffusion-induced stresses in NMC materials. The proposed model provides insight into the design of next-generation NMC electrode materials to achieve better structural stability by reducing mechanical cracking issues.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4697
JournalMathematics
Volume10
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Keywords

  • NMC electrode
  • concentration-dependent material property
  • finite element simulation
  • lithium-ion battery
  • nonlinear volume change

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