Meshfree Degradation of Electrochemical Materials Modeling Framework

NREL developed a meshfree framework for modeling the degradation (cracking, delamination, and phase change) of electrode materials used in lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers.

Energy storage systems, such as batteries, are complex and difficult to model computationally. These systems typically age over very long durations relative to charge/discharge dynamics, and key physical processes include large deformation swelling, cracking, and disparate transport within and between the finite-size material grain structures. Traditional material simulation approaches based on Eulerian discretizations are ineffective in capturing the wide spatial and temporal range of physical processes involved.

We have developed a novel approach to modeling these energy storage systems that combines the speed of continuous models with the unique ability for mesh-free models to accurately represent the dynamics near sharp discontinuities.  The methods are being used to generate high-resolution simulations of cracking with large deformation to understand aging dynamics in new materials.

Publications

Image-Based Modeling of Coupled Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Behavior of Li-ion Battery Cathode Using an Interface-Modified Reproducing Kernel Particle Method, Engineering With Computers (2024)

Contacts