Strength of an electrolyte supported solid oxide fuel cell

For the proper function of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) their structural integrity must be maintained during their whole lifetime. Any cell fracture would cause leakage and partial oxidization of the anode, leading to a reduced performance, if not catastrophic failure of the whole stack. In this study, the mechanical strength of a state of the art SOFC, developed and produced by Hexis AG/Switzerland, was investigated with respect to the influence of temperature and ageing, whilst for the anode side of the cell the strength was measured under reducing and oxidizing atmospheres. Ball-on-3-Ball bending strength tests and fractography conducted on anode and cathode half-cells revealed the underlying mechanisms, which lead to cell fracture. They were found to be different for the cathode and the anode side and that they change with temperature and ageing. Both anode and cathode sides exhibit the lowest strength at T = 850 °C, which is greatly reduced to the initial strength of the bare electrolyte. This reduction is the consequence of the formation of cracks in the electrode layer which either directly penetrate into the electrolyte (anode side) or locally increase the stress intensity level of pre-existing flaws of the electrolytes at the interface (cathode side).