A NUMERICAL SIMULATION TOOL FOR FRACTURE ANALYSIS IN SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS

Due to complex electrochemical and thermomechanical reactions, fracture often occurs in SOFCs. This paper reports the development of a numerical simulation tool for conducting fracture mechanics analysis in SOFCs. Using this toot a detailed stress distribution in a SOFC stack can be obtained, and the stress intensity factors associated with cracks in the cell can be computed. Knowledge of the stress distribution and the stress intensity factors enables us to design more efficient and more reliable SOFCs. As an example to demonstrate the usage of this numerical simulation tool, an interface crack located in the electrolyte-anode interface is investigated under different loading conditions.