Numerical simulation of lithium-ion battery performance considering electrode microstructure

Abstract

A spatially resolved three-dimensional microscale model of a lithium-ion battery half-cell is developed and applied to periodic electrode microstructures made up of spherical particles following a bidisperse particle size distribution. The geometries of the periodic unit cells are derived from discrete element simulations using periodic boundary conditions. Three different particle arrangements, which consist of two layered structures and one mixed particle array, as well as three different compression rates, are considered. In the study, the cathode is assumed to consist of LiMn2O4 as active material. Layered particle arrangements comprising the particle fraction of the smaller particle size in the region close to the separator are found to be beneficial especially for high-rate applications. According to the simulation results, the high-rate capability is reduced upon compression of the electrode microstructures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.