A multiscale model for infiltrated SOFC anodes by Mr. Rustam S Sekhar

Location and Date: 
Wednesday, March 15, 2017, 4 pm, LT 205

Abstract:
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SOFC electrodes where the electrocatalyst is infiltrated into a porous
electrolyte layer offer key advantages such as much higher electrochemical
activity, a greater tolerance for thermal shock,
higher redox tolerance (for anodes), etc. when compared to conventional
composite electrodes. Another important development in recent times is the
development of mathematical models that are
able to relate the properties of fuel cell electrodes to their
microstructure. In this presentation, we will discuss the model
development and results from two SOFCvmodels: 1) a model that predicts the
effective conductivities and triple-phase boundary density (a
measure of reaction site density) using knowledge of the microstructure of
Ni infiltrated anodes [1,2], and 2) a multiphysics model that takes the
above computed electrode properties and uses
them to simulate SOFC performance. The first model, a nano-micrometer
scale model is based on percolation theory and uses experimentally
controllable and measurable parameters as input. The
second model is a micro-centimeter scale reaction-transport model that
solves all the relevant coupled physics in a working SOFC to compute the
current produced as a function of cell voltage.
By coupling the two models together serially, we are able to evaluate the
effect of microstructural parameters on fuel cell performance. We will
present results that demonstrate how this approach can
be used to evaluate and improve the design of infiltrated SOFC electrodes.

References
[1] E. F. Hardjo, D. S. Monder, K. Karan, Journal of the Electrochemical
Society, 161, F83 (2014).
[2] A. Bertei, J. G. Pharoah, D. A.W. Gawel, and C. Nicolella, J.
Electrochem. Soc., 161, F1243 

(2014)