Collaborative Research: Fracture Toughness of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes: An Integrative Experimental and Computational Study

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The research objective of this award is to use an integrative experimental and computational approach to investigate the fracture toughness and the underlying fracture mechanisms of electrode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The proposed research will develop and implement an in-situ experimental setup to measure the constitutive behavior and extrinsic fracture properties of lithiated electrodes under well-controlled mechanical and electrochemical conditions. A numerical field-projection scheme will be used to extract the intrinsic cohesive properties at the crack-tip process zone from experimental far-field information. The coupled effects of mechanical and electrochemical processes on the electrode fracture characteristics will be elucidated by a micromechanics failure model, which incorporates the measured constitutive law and intrinsic cohesive parameters.If successful, the above studies will significantly advance the currently limited understanding of electrode material fracture in LIBs. Findings from this research will provide fundamental design criteria for microstructural optimization of ultra-high-capacity electrode materials with improved cycle life. The tightly integrated experimental and computational studies will expose participating students to a new field of fracture mechanics, which lies at the intersection of electrochemistry, physics, materials science and mechanics. Research results will be rapidly disseminated via open-access web-based resources, and will be integrated into undergraduate and graduate level courses. Through live demonstrations enhanced with multimedia tools, the PIs will actively educate elementary school students in the latest energy storage technologies to inspire them towards careers in science and engineering.