Inhomogeneous active layer contact loss in a cycled prismatic lithium-ion cell caused by the jelly-roll curvature

Internal resistance is a key parameter that affects the power, energy, efficiency, lifetime, and safety of a lithium-ion battery. It grows due to chemical and mechanical battery wear during ageing. In this work, the effect of the jelly-roll winding curvature on impedance rise is investigated. NMC electrode samples, harvested from the curved as well as the flat regions of the jelly-roll from cycle-aged and calendar-aged prismatic cells (25 Ah, hard casing) are investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. After cycling, larger impedance rise is observed at the outer radius (concave) of the curved region compared to the inner radius (convex) or the flat region of the jelly-roll, and the difference increases with a decrease in the jelly-roll radius of curvature, from the cell skin towards the core. To identify the causes behind the observed difference in the impedance rise, investigations at different external compression (0 and 2.5 MPa) and temperature (5 and 25 °C) are performed. The results show that contact loss between the current collector and the active layer is the main source of the difference in impedance rise. Mechanical mechanisms that may cause the contact loss are discussed and design recommendations to mitigate the rise in impedance are given.