Current State of Models for the Prediction of Mechanical Failures in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Structural reliability and durability is a hurdle for the large-scale commercialisation of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Because of the multiphysics nature of the problem, modelling is required to first gain knowledge and then alleviate mechanical failures. This chapter places the emphasis on stress analysis at the SOFC stack scale. A brief overview on the mechanical behaviour of the cell, sealing and gas diffusion layer materials is provided, along with a discussion on their implementation in finite-element software. Modelling approaches to handle the variety of situations that arises from stack design and application specificities are exposed. The current modelling capabilities are illustrated with results from studies available in literature, which enables to identify the most stringent model limitations that must be overcome to efficiently improve the reliability and durability of SOFC devices in future.