Effect of Creep of Ferritic Interconnect on Long‐Term Performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks

Abstract

AbstractHigh‐temperature ferritic alloys are potential candidates as interconnect (IC) materials and spacers due to their low cost and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) compatibility with other components for most of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). However, creep deformation becomes relevant for a material when the operating temperature exceeds or even is less than half of its melting temperature (in degrees of Kelvin). The operating temperatures for most of the SOFCs under development are around 1,073 K. With around 1,800 K of the melting temperature for most stainless steel (SS), possible creep deformation of ferritic IC under the typical cell operating temperature should not be neglected. In this paper, the effects of IC creep behaviour on stack geometry change and the stress redistribution of different cell components are predicted and summarised. The goal of the study is to investigate the performance of the fuel cell stack by obtaining the changes in fuel‐ and air‐channel geometry due to creep of the ferritic SS IC, therefore indicating possible changes in SOFC performance under long‐term operations. The ferritic IC creep model was incorporated into software SOFC‐MP and Mentat‐FC, and finite element analyses (FEAs) were performed to quantify the deformed configuration of the SOFC stack under the long‐term steady‐state operating temperature. It was found that the creep behaviour of the ferritic SS IC contributes to narrowing of both the fuel‐ and the air‐flow channels. In addition, stress re‐distribution of the cell components suggests the need for a compliant sealing material that also relaxes at operating temperature.