Microstructure Characterization and Degradation Modeling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Dear Colleagues,

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been attracting much attention as one of the most effective energy conversion systems. They can directly operate on hydrogen or methane and are often considered the primary choice for stationary applications. In this role, they of course have to comply with the expectations in this market segment; for instance, they must have a sufficient lifetime in the order of magnitude of 10 years of operation. Such long lifetimes require considerable efforts in the development of materials suitable for these requirements and in testing and validating their performance. Long-term testing is one option, but it is also important to understand the long-term stability of the SOFC materials and components on the microstructure level and to be able to model and predict the long-term degradation phenomena.

This Special Issue, “Microstructure Characterization and Degradation Modeling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells”, is dedicated to recent advances in microstructure evolution study and the integration of degradation effects into models of SOFC operation that lead to prediction models and insights into how accelerated testing methods could be designed. In order to establish the models, though, better ways of quantifying the degradation phenomena observed in SOFC cells are necessary. FIB-SEM, image analysis, and X-ray microtomography can supply these methods if the problems of pattern detection and calculation of critical parameters can be solved satisfactorily.

Dr. Maxim Ananyev
Guest Editor

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