Pore-boundary interactions and evolution equations for the porosity and the grain size during sintering

Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Failure of Solid Electrolytes Induced by Growth of Internal Lithium Filaments

Growth of lithium (Li) filaments within solid electrolytes, leading to mechanical degradation of the electrolyte and even short circuit of the cell under high current density, is a great barrier to commercialization of solid-state Li-metal batteries. Understanding of this electro-chemo-mechanical phenomenon is hindered by the challenge of tracking local fields inside the solid electrolyte. Here, a multiphysics simulation aiming to investigate evolution of the mechanical failure of the solid electrolyte induced by the internal growth of Li is reported. Visualization of local stress, damage, and crack propagation within the solid electrolyte enables examination of factors dominating the degradation process, including the geometry, number, and size of Li filaments and voids in the electrolyte. Relative damage induced by locally high stress is found to preferentially occur in the region of the electrolyte/Li interface having great fluctuations. A high number density of Li filaments or voids triggers integration of damage and crack networks by enhanced propagation. This model is built on coupling of mechanical and electrochemical processes for internal plating of Li, revealing evolution of multiphysical fields that can barely be captured by the state-of-the-art experimental techniques. Understanding mechanical degradation of solid electrolytes with the presence of Li filaments paves the way to design advanced solid electrolytes for future solid-state Li-metal batteries.

Transient and asymptotic kinetics of mass transfer by coupled surface and grain boundary diffusion in sintering under strain rate control

An original procedure is developed for simulating pore surface evolution during sintering at high strain rate while distinguishing two types of diffusion fluxes: transient surface fluxes governed by short-range curvature gradients and coupled fluxes at surface and grain boundary governed by strain rate. The latter fluxes become dominant asymptotically, i.e. after damping-out of transient fluxes. The procedure aims at allowing the prediction of the strain rate dependence of macroscopic viscosity, a concept which is meaningful only during the asymptotic stage. The problem is addressed in two-dimension. It is shown that the asymptotic solution of the general partial differential equation of the problem can be obtained as the solution of an ordinary differential equation, of which the resolution lends itself to a semi-analytical procedure. An estimate is also proposed for the rate of convergence of the general solution towards the asymptotic solution. The accuracy of the mathematical procedure is validated by a comparison of the evolution of asymptotic profiles and exact profiles calculated fully numerically during densification or expansion of the system. A method is proposed for mapping the conditions of existence of an asymptotic stage. The method can account for the dependence of average grain coordination on relative density.