SUMMARY

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are high temperature (600°C-1000°C) composite metallic/ceramic-cermet electrochemical devices. There is a need to effectively manage the heat transfer through the cell to mitigate material failure induced by thermal stresses while yet preserving power density. The proposed solution is a multi-objective thermodynamic optimization (MOTO) approach that modifies the architecture of a planar SOFC to optimally balance thermal gradients and power density. The MOTO approach utilizes a modified entropy generation minimization methodology. In a multi-objective manner, a robust optimization algorithm is employed in order to find the optimum architectures which minimize gross entropy generation and entropy generation due to thermal gradients. Minimizing gross entropy generation will maximize power density. Minimizing entropy generation due to thermal gradients will minimize thermal gradients. In order to ensure high fidelity results, a 3D finite element model of a planar SOFC has been developed in COMSOL Multi-physics. The proposed dissertation will highlight a new design methodology and provide insights on the connection between thermal gradients and cell architecture.