Creep
Contact analysis a b s t r a c tElectrochemical and mechanical aspects in solid oxide fuel cell stack must be understood to meet the reliability targets for market implementation. This study presents a stack modelling framework that combines thermo-electrochemical models, including degradation and a contact finite-element thermo-mechanical model. It considers rate-independent plasticity and creep of the component materials and proposes periodic boundary conditions to model the stacking of repeating units. This Part I focuses on the effects of the operating conditions and design alternatives.In the present conditions, the stresses in both the anode and the cathode contribute to the probability of failure (P f ), which can be lowered by adjusting the operating conditions.The requirements for mechanical reliability are here opposite to those that alleviate electrochemical degradation. Gas-diffusion layers (GDL) and interconnect design alternatives and stacking have a lower impact on the P f , but affect the contact pressure on the GDLs, which can cause electrical contacting challenges.Copyright ª 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
IntroductionSufficient mechanical reliability is a major hurdle to overcome for the commercial viability of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) devices [1]. Despite the evidence of this shortcoming, structural issues in SOFC stacks are practically solved by progressive design adjustments while efforts to understand the underlying processes have been limited. The need for a more solid, comprehensive and versatile background is now acknowledged, as the SOFC technology approaches market introduction. Strong coupling between the phenomena characterises the SOFC field. Stack and system design and operation must be integrated with structural and lifetime analysis to meet performance, reliability, durability, versatility and availability requirements, in the view of the lowest price of electricity delivered to the end-user. Numerous trade-offs govern the development of a functional SOFC system. They act at all scales and affect to similar extents the choice of an electrode microstructure and material, and that of a system layout. In a simplified view, the risks of structural failure scale with power density and number of thermal cycles. Effective mitigation requires the precise knowledge of the mechanisms. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal h om epa ge: www.elsev ier.com/locate/he i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 7 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 9 2 4 9 e9 2 6 8