Time dependent failure probability estimation of the solid oxide fuel cell by a creep-damage related Weibull distribution model.

In present paper, a new model is proposed and embedded into the finite element software ABAQUS to estimate the time dependent failure probability of the solid oxide fuel cell stack. The results show that sealant is the potential failure region of the solid oxide fuel cell stack, while the failure probability of the anode, electrolyte and cathode are very small within the operation time of 50,000 h. The creep and damage distribution of the components reflect that the proposed model can reasonably predict the time dependent failure probability of the solid oxide fuel cell stack. Increasing either the characteristic strain, Weibull modulus or decreasing the operating temperature can decrease the failure probability of the SOFC stack. For the sealant, to ensure the high temperature integrity of the SOFC stack, the characteristic strain should be larger than 0.01 or Weibull modulus should be higher than 8.0 under the operating temperature of 600 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]