A length-scale insensitive cohesive phase-field interface model: application to concurrent bulk and interface fracture simulation in Lithium-ion battery materials

Abstract: A new cohesive phase-field (CPF) interface fracture model is proposed on the basis of the Euler-Lagrange equation of the phase-field theory and the interface fracture energy check w.r.t. that of the cohesive zone model. It employs an exponential function for the interpolation of fracture energy between the bulk phase and the interface, while the effective interface fracture energy $\tilde{G}_i$ is derived in such a way that the integrated phase-field fracture energy across the diffusive interface region remains consistent with the sharp interface fracture energy $G_i$ defined in the classical cohesive zone model. This consistency is the key to ensure that the numerical results remain insensitive to the choice of length-scale parameters, particularly the regularized interface thickness $L$ and the regularized fracture surface thickness $b$. By employing this energy consistency check, various CPF interface models in the literature are reviewed. Besides the length-scale insensitivity, the proposed CPF interface model offers further advantages. Thanks to the fact that the exponential interpolation function can be obtained conveniently from the relaxation solution of an Allen-Cahn equation, the proposed CPF model is advantageous over other models with high flexibility in handling structures containing complicated interface topology. In order to demonstrate this merit and to check the length-scale insensitivity in multiphysics context, the proposed CPF interface model is employed further to derive a thermodynamically consistent chemo-mechanical model relevant to Lithium-ion battery materials. Finite element simulation results of the concurrent bulk and interface fracture in polycrystalline electrode particles, reconstructed from images with segmented interfaces, confirm the expected computational advantages and the length-scale insensitivity in chemo-mechanical context.