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Reconstruction of solid oxide fuel cell electrode microstructure and analysis of its effective conductivity

关于固体氧化物燃料电池的电极的微观结构重构及有效电导率计算

  • Article
  • Engineering Sciences
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Science Bulletin

Abstract

The effective conductivity (σ eff) of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrode is an important parameter for predicting the ohmic loss in SOFC. This paper investigates the effective conductivity of SOFC electrodes reconstructed numerically by packing spherical particles in a computational domain, followed by a dilation process to simulate the sintering procedure. The effects of various parameters on the effective conductivity of the electrodes are investigated, including material composition, porosity, particle size and contact angle. Results show that the effective conductivity ratio (σ eff/σ 0) of the computed conducting phase is mainly affected by its total volume fraction (VF) in electrode (including the porosity). The effective conductivity can be improved by increasing the VF, electrode particle size or the contact angle between electrode particles. Based on the numerical results, the conventional percolation model for the calculation of σ eff is improved by adjusting the Bruggeman factor from 1.5 to 2.7. The results are useful for understanding the microstructure properties of SOFC composite electrode and for subsequent electrode optimization.

摘要

电极有效电导率是预测固体氧化物燃料电池(SOFC)电极内欧姆损失的一个重要参数。本文采用数值计算的方法研究了SOFC电极内的有效电导率。SOFC多孔电极采用随机球堆积程序构建,电极烧结过程采用电极颗粒原位膨胀的方法模拟。基于所构建的电极,本文研究了不同电极材料组分,孔隙率,颗粒大小以及接触角对电极有效电导率的影响。结果表明:电极内传导相的有效电导率比值(σ eff/σ 0)主要由该相在电极内的体积分数(VF)决定。VF值越大,σ eff/σ 0值越高。此外,增加电极颗粒尺寸以及电极颗粒间的接触角也有利于电极有效电导率的提高。最后,通过将计算结果与传统渗流模型对比发现,传统渗流模型高估了电极的有效电导率。将传统渗流模型中的Bruggeman factor从1.5 调整至2.7可以提高该模型预测的准确度。本文的工作有助于理解SOFC复合电极微结构与电极有效性质之间的关系,并为电极优化提供理论依据。

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from Research Grant Council, University Grants Committee, Hong Kong SAR (PolyU 152127/14E).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Building Energy Research Group, Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Keqing Zheng & Meng Ni

  2. Environmental Energy Research Group, Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Keqing Zheng & Meng Ni

Authors
  1. Keqing Zheng
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  2. Meng Ni
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Correspondence to Meng Ni.

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Zheng, K., Ni, M. Reconstruction of solid oxide fuel cell electrode microstructure and analysis of its effective conductivity. Sci. Bull. 61, 78–85 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-015-0946-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-015-0946-1

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