The Capacity Equation
Electrode capacity is determined by geometry and material properties: where:- is the electrode capacity [A·h]
- is the maximum lithium concentration [mol/m³]
- is the active material volume fraction
- is the electrode thickness [m]
- is the electrode area [m²]
- is the number of electrodes connected in parallel (defaults to 1)
- is the usable stoichiometry range
- C/mol is Faraday’s constant
ElectrodeCapacity calculation can solve for maximum concentration; supply any five of the six parameters and it returns the missing one.
パイプラインでこれらの計算を構成する方法については、Pipelines → Calculations → Geometry & Capacity を参照してください。
Cell Geometry
Geometry Hierarchy
Battery cells are organized hierarchically:Key Parameters
For pouch and prismatic cells, electrode area is the planar area times the number of layers. For cylindrical cells, it’s the unrolled electrode area.
Cyclable Lithium
Cyclable lithium is the total lithium that shuttles between electrodes during cycling. It sets the upper limit on cell capacity. where stoichiometries are evaluated at a reference state (typically 100% SOC).Why It Matters
- Cell capacity: Cannot exceed cyclable lithium, regardless of electrode capacities
- Degradation tracking: Loss of cyclable lithium indicates SEI growth, plating, or particle cracking
- Electrode balancing: Determines which electrode limits cell capacity
N/P Ratio and Electrode Balancing
The negative-to-positive capacity ratio (N/P ratio) affects how electrodes are utilized:Mass Calculations
Mass is needed for gravimetric energy density and thermal modeling.Component Mass
Each component’s mass is calculated from: where is density, is area, is thickness, and is porosity.Energy Density
Gravimetric and volumetric energy densities are key cell-level metrics:Microstructure
Microstructure parameters describe the porous electrode architecture:Porosity
The void fraction of the electrode: Higher porosity improves electrolyte transport but reduces energy density.Tortuosity
Describes how much longer the effective transport path is compared to the straight-line distance: Common correlations relate tortuosity to porosity:- Bruggeman:
- Measured: From electrochemical impedance or other techniques
Active Material Volume Fraction
The fraction of electrode volume occupied by active material: This is a key fitting parameter affecting both capacity and transport.Practical Workflow
1
Define Geometry
Set electrode area, thicknesses, and number of layers
2
Specify Microstructure
Set active material volume fractions and calculate porosity
3
Calculate Capacities
Use
ElectrodeCapacity for each electrode4
Determine Cyclable Lithium
Use
CyclableLithium to find the limiting capacity5
Calculate Mass and Energy Density
Use
CellMass to roll the component contributions up to a cell-level mass