An analysis of the current state and obstacles in discrete layered finite element simulation of crushing cylindrical lithium-ion cells

The safety of lithium-ion batteries under mechanical crush loading is an important issue, as excessive loads can trigger internal short circuits and even thermal runaway. Discrete layered finite element models can represent the internal stress and deformation of the cell, and, in principle, the occurrence of hazardous events. With respect to the state-of-the-art, this paper addresses various obstacles in material parameter measurements, meshing and convergence, and validation to enable future improvement of such models. The analysis revealed the potential upsides from using layer discrete models when conducting qualitative and quantitative validation. As an example of a possible use case of the discrete layered model, a sensitivity analysis of the mechanical material parameters of the components was performed to investigate their influence on the overall model.