SUMMARY

The modeling methods that inform solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) design span many levels of detail and must balance complexity and computational cost. For example, to obtain macro-scale insights efficiently, simplified SOFC models often sacrifice key details like the influence of cell geometry or the role of electrode microstructure on transport phenomena. Conversely, detailed microstructural models may draw heavily upon computing resources to ascertain highly localized insights into physical phenomena within a given cell. Application of appropriate simplifications and analogies to SOFC transport phenomena can reduce model complexity while retaining insights that better inform the SOFC design process and forge connections between SOFC modeling levels. The proposed dissertation project will further characterize diffusive mass transfer phenomena within porous SOFC components and investigate a means of mapping SOFC electrode microstructures to an analogous structure composed of electrochemical fins. The synchronized development of these transport models will allow for the investigation of methods that will connect SOFC component and cell level models in two steps. First, the exploration of multi-dimensional diffusive mass transfer within SOFC electrode cross-sections will produce a model capable of incorporating reactant concentration changes along the cell into proven mass transfer models that account for cell geometry effects seen in more detailed electrode models. Second, the development of an electrochemical fin model will provide a means of connecting microstructural details to continuum SOFC electrode models. Relevant design issues to be addressed include further exploration of gas channel sizing effects, establishing the size of electroactive regions in the electrode, and discerning the effects of functionally graded structures on electrode performance.