The large volume change during lithium-ion insertion/extraction leads to huge stress and even failure of active materials. To well understand such a problem, the two-phase lithiation process of film and hollowcore-shell electrodes is simulated by using a non-linear diffusion lithiation model. The dynamic evolution of lithium-ion concentration and diffusion-induced stress are obtained. Based on the dimensional analysis, a phase diagram is determined to demonstrate the relationship between critical failure, structure dimensions and mechanical properties. As a case study, the critical state of charge in Sn films are measured and compared with theoretical results. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is not changed in any way and is properly cited. For permission for commercial reuse, please email: [email protected]. All rights reserved.