Microstructural optimization of solid oxide fuel cell electrodes

In this thesis, the effects of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode support layer (ASL) microstructural properties on the cell performance are investigated. SOFC anode microstructures consisting of two layers, including the anode functional layer (AFL), where electrochemical reactions occur, are synthetically generated with the help of an open-source software. ADT layers with different particle sizes, volume fractions and porosities are combined with an AFT generated with the same properties to investigate the effect of only ADT microstructural parameters. The triple phase boundary (TPB) density, which is chosen as the performance determining parameter, is then numerically calculated for each layer and for the total anode. The results obtained show that the ASL microstructure has a significant impact on the cell performance as it influences the reactant gas supply and the collection of the generated current, and therefore should be carefully designed.