Imaging of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathode
EMSL Project ID
29397
Abstract
Microstructure imaging of a solid oxide fuel cell cathode is a necessary component of a computational modeling effort investigating the reactive transport of chromium species in the porous cathode of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). A pore scale model of the SOFC cathode is being developed to examine the reactions of chromium with the cathode and its transport through the porous cathode. The effects of chromium in the cathode have been shown to decrease the performance of the fuel cell over time. The SOFC cathode has a highly irregular, porous microstructure that has not been well characterized in the literature. The Dual Beam™ FIB/SEM at EMSL has the capability of imaging the 3D microstructure of the SOFC cathode using 2D SEM images of slices of the cathode. These 3D images will be used as the geometry of the pore scale reactive transport model being developed. Using the actual cathode microstructure is important to the computational model due to the variations in pore size and porosity throughout the cathode. Previous modeling efforts have examined the cathode on a bulk level using average porous medium properties. Using the bulk properties of the cathode can lead to inaccurate results due to the irregular nature of the microstructure and can significantly affect the transport of chromium to different regions of the cathode and the surface area available for chromium reactions with the cathode. This proposal is for the Science of Interfacial Phenomena Science Theme call and is for standard, general access, and is non-proprietary.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2008-08-01
End Date
2010-05-18
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members