Effect of Fast Charging of Lithium-Ion Cells: Performance and Post-Test Results

The effect of charge rate was determined using constant-current (CC) and the USABC Fast-Charge (FC) tests on commercial lithium-ion cells. Charging at high rates caused performance decline in the cells. Representing the resistance data as ΔR vs. R_n-1 plots was shown to be a viable method to remove the ambiguity inherent in the time-based analyses of the data. Comparing the ΔR vs. R_n-1 results, the change in resistance was proportional to charge rate in both the CC and FC cell data, with the FC cells displaying a greater rate of change.

Changes, such as delamination, at the anode were seen in both CC and FC cells. The amount of delamination was proportional to charge rate in the CC cells. No analogous trend was seen in the FC cells; extensive delamination was seen in all cases. These changes may be due to the interaction of processes, such as lithium plating and i²R heating.