Vitaliy Yurkiv, University of Illinois at Chicago

Reza Shahbazian-Yassar,  University of Illinois at Chicago

Over the last few decades, the challenges associated with global warming and the progressing depletion of natural resources have stimulated the development of alternative energy storage and conversion technologies. In this regard, a rechargeable battery and a fuel cell are a promising alternative electrochemical technology for future energy management. In latter systems, electrochemical processes influence stress evolution, deformation as well as fracture phenomena. Correspondingly, stress evolution, deformation, and fracture phenomena can have a significant influence on electrochemical properties of material as well as device performance, and efficiency. Thus, the aim of this symposium is to present and discuss recent advances related to the mechanics of electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies and their multi-scale and multi-physics coupling with electrochemical phenomena. Topics of interest include experimental and/or modeling studies of mechano-electrochemical phenomena occurring in rechargeable batteries and fuel cells using beyond the state-of-the art as well as well-established methods and techniques. Such mechano-electrochemical phenomena may include, but be not limited to, the effect of stress and strain on material properties of electrochemically active materials; the defects’ thermodynamics of electrochemically active materials (e.g., chemical expansion coefficients); phase transformations in electrochemically active materials; the microstructural evolution of electrochemically active materials; stress, strain, and/or fracture originated from electrochemical processes. Also, new theoretical approaches to model mechano-electrochemical phenomena as well as novel in-situ and ex-situ experimental tools to characterize electrochemical materials are welcome. The symposium provides a forum for researchers in both academia and industry, promoting personal contacts and stimulating new collaborations.

Keywords: energy, solids and structure