Simultaneous effect of particle size and location on stress development in the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries

In this study, stress generation at the electrode in Li-ion batteries was studied using a two-dimensional cell-scale model that includes multiple active particles during galvanostatic discharge. Numerical simulations were performed using an electrochemical–mechanical coupled model to elucidate the simultaneous effects of particle size and location, lithium intercalation kinetics and binder constraints on the stress. The simulation results showed that when different sizes of particle are considered in the electrode, the small particles were discharged more than the large particles, resulting in higher level of stress in the smaller particles. In addition, the closer the particles were located to the separator, the larger the stresses that were developed in those particles. Therefore, a layered structure, where the particle size gradually increases as the distance from the particles to the separator decreases, can alleviate stress on the electrode. When binder constraints were considered for the electrode particles, the stress was increased at the anode and alleviated at the cathode upon discharge. This indicates that the effect of mechanical constraints on stress generation in the particles differs in the lithiation and delithiation process.