TEMPERATURE AND THERMAL-STRESS DISTRIBUTIONS IN A TUBULAR SOLID OXIDEFUEL-CELL

The temperature and thermal stress distributions in two model cells fo r a tubular solid oxide fuel cell. which have a different thickness of the electrolyte, were calculated by the finite element method to demo nstrate the effects of electrolyte thickness on the mechanical stabili ty of fuel cells. When the cells were operated at a constant voltage, their energy conversion efficiency increased with decreasing thickness of the electrolyte. A larger amount of heat was generated in the cell having a thinner electrolyte, thus producing a larger thermal stress. These results indicates that an excellent preparation method for the highly ionic conductive electrolyte is essential to produce a fuel cel l with high mechanical stability.