2017, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Druet, Pierre-Étienne, Gajewski, Paul, Guhlke, Clemens

We consider an improved NernstPlanckPoisson model first proposed by Dreyer et al. in 2013 for compressible isothermal electrolytes in non equilibrium. The model takes into account the elastic deformation of the medium that induces an inherent coupling of mass and momentum transport. The model consists of convectiondiffusionreaction equations for the constituents of the mixture, of the Navier-Stokes equation for the barycentric velocity, and of the Poisson equation for the electrical potential. Due to the principle of mass conservation, crossdiffusion phenomena must occur and the mobility matrix (Onsager matrix) has a kernel. In this paper, which continues the investigation of [DDGG17a], we derive for thermodynamically consistent approximation schemes the natural uniform estimates associated with the dissipations. Our results essentially improve our former study [DDGG16], in particular the a priori estimates concerning the relative chemical potentials.

2019, Vágner, Petr, Guhlke, Clemens, Miloš, Vojtěch, Müller, Rüdiger, Fuhrmann, Jürgen

A continuum model for yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) in the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics is developed. Particular attention is given to i) modeling of the YSZ-metal-gas triple phase boundary, ii) incorporation of the lattice structure and immobile oxide ions within the free energy model and iii) surface reactions. A finite volume discretization method based on modified Scharfetter-Gummel fluxes is derived in order to perform numerical simulations. The model is used to study the impact of yttria and immobile oxide ions on the structure of the charged boundary layer and the double layer capacitance. Cyclic voltammograms of an air-half cell are simulated to study the effect of parameter variations on surface reactions, adsorption and anion diffusion.

2018, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Guhlke, Clemens, Müller, Rüdiger

We propose a modeling framework for magnetizable, polarizable, elastic, viscous, heat conducting, reactive mixtures in contact with interfaces. To this end we first introduce bulk and surface balance equations that contain several constitutive quantities. For further modeling the constitutive quantities, we formulate constitutive principles. They are based on an axiomatic introduction of the entropy principle and the postulation of Galilean symmetry. We apply the proposed formalism to derive constitutive relations in a rather abstract setting. For illustration of the developed procedure, we state an explicit isothermal material model for liquid electrolyte|metal electrode interfaces in terms of free energy densities in the bulk and on the surface. Finally we give a survey of recent advancements in the understanding of electrochemical interfaces that were based on this model.

2016, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Friz, Peter K., Gajewski, Paul, Guhlke, Clemens, Maurelli, Mario

In the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics we derive a new model for porous electrodes. The model is applied to LiFePO4 (LFP) electrodes consisting of many LFP particles of nanometer size. The phase transition from a lithium-poor to a lithium-rich phase within LFP electrodes is controlled by surface fluctuations leading to a system of stochastic differential equations. The model is capable to derive an explicit relation between battery voltage and current that is controlled by thermodynamic state variables. This voltage-current relation reveals that in thin LFP electrodes lithium intercalation from the particle surfaces into the LFP particles is the principal rate limiting process. There are only two constant kinetic parameters in the model describing the intercalation rate and the fluctuation strength, respectively. The model correctly predicts several features of LFP electrodes, viz. the phase transition, the observed voltage plateaus, hysteresis and the rate limiting capacity. Moreover we study the impact of both the particle size distribution and the active surface area on the voltagecharge characteristics of the electrode. Finally we carefully discuss the phase transition for varying charging/discharging rates.

2018, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Guhlke, Clemens, Müller, Rüdiger

Electro-thermodynamics provides a consistent framework to derive continuum models for electrochemical systems. For the application to a specific experimental system, the general model must be equipped with two additional ingredients: a free energy model to calculate the chemical potentials and a kinetic model for the kinetic coefficients. Suitable free energy models for liquid electrolytes incorporating ion-solvent interaction, finite ion sizes and solvation already exist and have been validated against experimental measurements. In this work, we focus on the modeling of the mobility coefficients based on MaxwellStefan setting and incorporate them into the general electro-thermodynamic framework. Moreover, we discuss the impact of model parameter on conductivity, transference numbers and salt diffusion coefficient. In particular, the focus is set on the solvation of ions and incomplete dissociation of a non-dilute electrolyte.

2013, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Guhlke, Clemens

Diffuse and sharp interface models represent two alternatives to describe phase transitions with an interface between two coexisting phases. The two model classes can be independently formulated. Thus there arises the problem whether the sharp limit of the diffuse model fits into the setting of a corresponding sharp interface model. We call a diffuse model admissible if its sharp limit produces interfacial jump conditions that are consistent with the balance equations and the 2nd law of thermodynamics for sharp interfaces. We use special cases of the viscous Cahn- Hilliard equation to show that there are admissible as well as non-admissible diffuse interface models.

2012, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Guhlke, Clemens, Müller, Rüdiger

This is a study on electrolytes that takes a thermodynamically consistent coupling between mechanics and diffusion into account. It removes some inherent deficiencies of the popular Nernst-Planck model. A boundary problem for equilibrium processes is used to illustrate the new features of our model.

2017, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Druet, Pierre-Étienne, Gajewski, Paul, Guhlke, Clemens

We consider an improved NernstPlanckPoisson model first proposed by Dreyer et al. in 2013 for compressible isothermal electrolytes in non equilibrium. The model takes into account the elastic deformation of the medium that induces an inherent coupling of mass and momentum transport. The model consists of convectiondiffusionreaction equations for the constituents of the mixture, of the Navier-Stokes equation for the barycentric velocity, and of the Poisson equation for the electrical potential. Due to the principle of mass conservation, crossdiffusion phenomena must occur and the mobility matrix (Onsager matrix) has a kernel. In this paper we establish the existence of a globalintime weak solution for the full model, allowing for a general structure of the mobility tensor and for chemical reactions with highly non linear rates in the bulk and on the active boundary. We characterise the singular states of the system, showing that the chemical species can vanish only globally in space, and that this phenomenon must be concentrated in a compact set of measure zero in time. With respect to our former study [DDGG16], we also essentially improve the a priori estimates, in particular concerning the relative chemical potentials.

2014, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Guhlke, Clemens, Müller, Rüdiger

We consider the contact between an electrolyte and a solid electrode. At first we formulate a thermodynamic consistent model that resolves boundary layers at interfaces. The model includes charge transport, diffusion, chemical reactions, viscosity, elasticity and polarization under isothermal conditions. There is a coupling between these phenomena that particularly involves the local pressure in the electrolyte. Therefore the momentum balance is of major importance for the correct description of the layers. The width of the boundary layers is typically very small compared to the macroscopic dimensions of the system. In a second step we thus apply the method of asymptotic analysis to derive a simpler reduced model that does not resolve the boundary layers but instead incorporates the electrochemical properties of the layers into a set of new boundary conditions. For a metal-electrolyte interface, we derive a qualitative description of the double layer capacitance without the need to resolve space charge layers.

2009, Dreyer, Wolfgang, Guhlke, Clemens, Huth, Robert

We study the almost reversible storage process of charging and discharging of lithium-ion batteries. That process is accompanied by a phase transition and charging and discharging run along different paths, so that hysteretic behavior is observed. We are interested in the storage problem of the cathode of a lithium-ion battery consisting of a system of many iron phosphate (FePO4) particles. There are mathematical models, see [DGJ08], [DGGHJ09] and [DG09], that describe phase transitions and hysteresis exclusively in a single storage particle and they can describe the observed hysteretic voltage-charge plots with almost horizontal plateaus. Interestingly the models predict that the coexistence of a 2-phase system in an individual particle disappears, if its size is below a critical value. The disappearance of the phase transition in the single particle model implies the disappearance of the hysteresis. However, in the experiment hysteretic behavior survives. In other words: The behavior of a storage system consisting of many particles is qualitatively independent of the fact whether the individual particles itself develop a 2-phase system or if they remain in a single phase state. This apparent paradoxical observation will be resolved in this article by a many particle model. It will be shown that if each of the individual particles is in a homogeneous state, nevertheless the many particle ensemble exhibits phase transition and hysteresis ...