Stress fields in hollow core–shell spherical electrodes of lithium ion batteries

This paper presents a comprehensive model coupling the effects of hydrostatic stress, surface/interface stress, phase transformation and the structure of electrodes. First, the governing equation of moving phase interface with hydrostatic stress is established. Under the effect of hydrostatic stress, phase transformation process is much faster, which means phase transformation time is overestimated in previous publications. Then, a cross-scale analysis is presented to investigate the size effect owing to hydrostatic stress, surface stress and interface stress separately, which concludes that the effect of hydrostatic stress is significant for the stress field in microelectrode particles, whereas that of surface/interface stress is highlighted in nano-ones. Finally, an electrochemical variable ‘efficiency’ (ratio of effective capacity over total capacity) is defined. The advantages of hollow structure electrodes on stress and efficiency are analysed. The present model is helpful for the material and structure design of electrodes of lithium ion batteries.