3D thermo-electro-chemo-mechanical coupled modeling of solid oxide fuel cell with double-sided cathodes

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2020-01, Vol.45 (1), p.904-915
• Main Authors: Jiang, Congying, Gu, Yuchen, Guan, Wanbing, Zheng, Jiahong, Ni, Meng, Zhong, Zheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1st principal stress; Multi-physics model; Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC); Temperature gradient; Thermal stress
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.10.139

A solid oxide fuel cell based on double-sided cathodes is developed in our group, showing special properties and many advantages under some harsh conditions. To optimize the cell further, a thermo-electro-chemo-mechanical coupled 3D model is developed to simulate the distributions of temperature, current density, fuel gas and thermal stress under different voltages. The numerical results indicate that the temperature distribution, current, fuel gases and thermal stress is non-uniform in the cell at different voltages. The distribution of thermal stress in the electrolyte is also non-uniform because of the un-even electrochemical reaction and convective heat transfer. Furthermore, the result shows that about 47%~54% of maximum 1st principal stress in SOFC is caused by the mismatch of coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) among materials, while the other part of the maximum 1st principal stress is mainly caused by temperature gradient. •A 3D thermo-electro-chemo-mechanical coupled model was established.•Thermal stress analysis of solid oxide fuel cell based on double-sided cathodes.•Simulation results are validated by experimental data.•Effects of temperature gradient and CTEs on thermal stress were distinguished.