Mechanical reliability and durability of SOFC stacks. Part I: Modelling of the effect of operating conditions and design alternatives on the reliability

Electrochemical and mechanical aspects in solid oxide fuel cell stack must be understood to meet the reliability targets for market implementation. This study presents a stack modelling framework that combines thermo-electrochemical models, including degradation and a contact finite-element thermo-mechanical model. It considers rate-independent plasticity and creep of the component materials and proposes periodic boundary conditions to model the stacking of repeating units. This Part I focuses on the effects of the operating conditions and design alternatives.