Ravish/hā-yi ̒adadī dar Muhandisī (Feb 2021)
Estimation of the Stress Intensity Factors for Surface Cracks in Spherical Electrode Particles Subject to Phase Separation
Abstract
Experiments have frequently shown that phase separation in lithium-ion battery electrodes could lead to the formation of mechanical defects, hence causing capacity fading. The purpose of the present work has been to examine stress intensity factors for pre-existing surface cracks in spherical electrode particles during electrochemical deintercalation cycling using both analytical and numerical methods. To this end, we make use of a phase field model to examine the time-dependent evolution of the concentration and stress profiles in a phase separating spherical electrode particles. By using a geometrical approximation scheme proposed in the literature, stress intensity factors at the deepest point of the pre-existing surface cracks of semi-elliptical geometry are calculated with the aid of the well-established weight function method of fracture mechanics. By taking advantage of a sharp-interphase core-shell model, an analytical solution for the maximum stress intensity factors arising at the deepest point of the surface cracks during a complete deintercalation half-cycle is also developed. Numerical results for evolution of the concentration profile and the distribution of the hoop stresses in the particle are presented; further, the stress intensity factors found numerically based on the phase field model are compared with those predicted by the analytical core-shell model. The results of the numerical model suggest that the maximum stress intensity factor could significantly vary with changes in the surface flux, increasing potentially by a factor of two within the range of parameters considered here, when the concentration difference between the two phases is decreased.