1D Isothermal Lithium–Air Battery

Application ID: 20023


Rechargeable lithium-air batteries have recently attracted great interest mainly due to their high energy density. The theoretical value is about 11400 Wh/kg which is around 10 times greater than the lithium-ion batteries.

In this tutorial, discharge of a lithium-air battery is simulated using the Lithium-ion Battery interface. The transport of oxygen (from external air) in the porous carbon electrode is modeled using the Transport of Diluted Species in Porous Media interface. The electrochemical reaction (oxygen reduction) in the carbon electrode leads to changes in concentration of the reaction product and electrode porosity. This is modeled using Domain ODEs and DAEs interface.

The model can be used for studying the performance of lithium-air batteries and for providing insights towards cell design. In this work, a comparison of the oxygen concentration, porosity and film thickness in the positive electrode at low and high discharge current densities is done to understand the effect on the cell voltage profiles.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: