A review on modeling of electro-chemo-mechanics in lithium-ion batteries

Investigations on the fast capacity loss of Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have highlighted a rich field of mechanical phenomena occurring during charging/discharging cycles, to name only a few, large deformations coupled with nonlinear elasticity, plastification, fracture, anisotropy, structural instability, and phase separation phenomena. In the last decade, numerous experimental and theoretical studies have been conducted to investigate and model these phenomena. This review aims, on one hand, at a comprehensive overview of the approaches for modeling the coupled chemo-mechanical behavior of LIBs at three different scales, namely the particle, the electrode, and the battery cell levels. Focus is thereby the impact of mechanics on the cell performance and the degradation mechanisms. We point out the critical points in these models, as well as the challenges towards resolving them. Particularly, by outlining the milestones of theoretical and numerical models, we give a step-by-step instruction to the interested readers in both electrochemical and mechanical communities. On the other hand, this review aims to facilitate the knowledge transfer of mechanically coupled modeling to the study of all-solid-state batteries, where the mechanical issues are expected to play even more diverse and essential roles due to the additional mechanical constraintimposed by the solid electrolytes.

J. Power Sources