Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation
Abstract
Degradation mechanisms within solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) during thermal cycling limit operational start-up times and cell lifetime, and must therefore be better understood and mitigated. This work explores such mechanisms using digital volume correlation (DVC) techniques applied to lab-based X-ray tomograms where the microstructural evolution is evaluated during the operational cycling of a Ni–YSZ/YSZ cell. To emulate reduced start-up times, five tomograms were collected over four operational thermal cycles to 750 °C at various ramp-rates: 3, 10, 20 and 30 °C min–1. Two key features are observed in the 3D strain profiles. Firstly, during low ramp-rates the material produces microscopic channels towards cluster-points. This is thought to be caused by the ceramic skeleton inhibiting the effects of sintering. Secondly, previously unseen macroscopic ‘waves’ developed after high-rate cycling, consisting of linear regions of compression and tension throughout the sample. These wave features decay away from a heterogeneous defect which is thought to be responsible for the non-uniform strain profile. This work demonstrates the first use of sub-micron DVC computations applied to an SOFC exposed to operationally relevant temperatures. Lastly, these findings will assist in the development of new electrode materials from their fabrication to operation, ultimately supporting commercial viability ofmore »
- Authors:
-
- UCL, London (United Kingdom)
- National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1485555
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5400-72931
Journal ID: ISSN 2398-4902; SEFUA7
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Sustainable Energy & Fuels
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 2398-4902
- Publisher:
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION; solid oxide fuel cells; degradation mechanisms; digital volume correlation
Citation Formats
Heenan, T. M. M., Lu, X., Finegan, Donal P., Robinson, J., Iacoviello, F., Bailey, J. J., Brett, D. J. L., and Shearing, P. R. Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1039/C8SE00292D.
Heenan, T. M. M., Lu, X., Finegan, Donal P., Robinson, J., Iacoviello, F., Bailey, J. J., Brett, D. J. L., & Shearing, P. R. Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8SE00292D
Heenan, T. M. M., Lu, X., Finegan, Donal P., Robinson, J., Iacoviello, F., Bailey, J. J., Brett, D. J. L., and Shearing, P. R. Mon .
"Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8SE00292D. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1485555.
@article{osti_1485555,
title = {Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation},
author = {Heenan, T. M. M. and Lu, X. and Finegan, Donal P. and Robinson, J. and Iacoviello, F. and Bailey, J. J. and Brett, D. J. L. and Shearing, P. R.},
abstractNote = {Degradation mechanisms within solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) during thermal cycling limit operational start-up times and cell lifetime, and must therefore be better understood and mitigated. This work explores such mechanisms using digital volume correlation (DVC) techniques applied to lab-based X-ray tomograms where the microstructural evolution is evaluated during the operational cycling of a Ni–YSZ/YSZ cell. To emulate reduced start-up times, five tomograms were collected over four operational thermal cycles to 750 °C at various ramp-rates: 3, 10, 20 and 30 °C min–1. Two key features are observed in the 3D strain profiles. Firstly, during low ramp-rates the material produces microscopic channels towards cluster-points. This is thought to be caused by the ceramic skeleton inhibiting the effects of sintering. Secondly, previously unseen macroscopic ‘waves’ developed after high-rate cycling, consisting of linear regions of compression and tension throughout the sample. These wave features decay away from a heterogeneous defect which is thought to be responsible for the non-uniform strain profile. This work demonstrates the first use of sub-micron DVC computations applied to an SOFC exposed to operationally relevant temperatures. Lastly, these findings will assist in the development of new electrode materials from their fabrication to operation, ultimately supporting commercial viability of SOFCs.},
doi = {10.1039/C8SE00292D},
journal = {Sustainable Energy & Fuels},
number = 12,
volume = 2,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
Web of Science
Figures / Tables:
Works referenced in this record:
Thermal Expansion of Nickel-Zirconia Anodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells during Fabrication and Operation
journal, January 1998
- Mori, Masashi
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 145, Issue 4
Laser-preparation of geometrically optimised samples for X-ray nano-CT: LASER-PREPARATION OF GEOMETRICALLY OPTIMISED SAMPLES FOR X-RAY NANO-CT
journal, May 2017
- Bailey, J. J.; Heenan, T. M. M.; Finegan, D. P.
- Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 267, Issue 3
The relationship between overpotential and the three phase boundary length
journal, July 1996
- Fukunaga, H.
- Solid State Ionics, Vol. 86-88
Novel materials for solid oxide fuel cell technologies: A literature review
journal, October 2017
- da Silva, Fellipe Sartori; de Souza, Teófilo Miguel
- International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 42, Issue 41
4D nano-tomography of electrochemical energy devices using lab-based X-ray imaging
journal, May 2018
- Heenan, T. M. M.; Finegan, D. P.; Tjaden, B.
- Nano Energy, Vol. 47
Nickel Depletion and Agglomeration in SOFC Anodes During Long-Term Operation
journal, May 2017
- Zekri, A.; Herbrig, K.; Knipper, M.
- Fuel Cells, Vol. 17, Issue 3
Nondestructive Reconstruction and Analysis of SOFC Anodes Using X-ray Computed Tomography at Sub-50 nm Resolution
journal, January 2008
- Izzo, John R.; Joshi, Abhijit S.; Grew, Kyle N.
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 155, Issue 5
Analysis of the three-dimensional microstructure of a solid-oxide fuel cell anode using nano X-ray tomography
journal, February 2011
- Guan, Yong; Li, Wenjie; Gong, Yunhui
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, Issue 4
Analysis of triple phase contact in Ni–YSZ microstructures using non-destructive X-ray tomography with synchrotron radiation
journal, August 2010
- Shearing, P. R.; Gelb, J.; Yi, J.
- Electrochemistry Communications, Vol. 12, Issue 8
Lithiation-Induced Dilation Mapping in a Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode by 3D X-Ray Microscopy and Digital Volume Correlation
journal, November 2013
- Eastwood, David S.; Yufit, Vladimir; Gelb, Jeff
- Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 4, Issue 4
Progress in material selection for solid oxide fuel cell technology: A review
journal, July 2015
- Mahato, Neelima; Banerjee, Amitava; Gupta, Alka
- Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 72
Poisoning of SOFC anodes by various fuel impurities
journal, September 2008
- Haga, K.; Adachi, S.; Shiratori, Y.
- Solid State Ionics, Vol. 179, Issue 27-32
An Evaluation of Digital Image Correlation Criteria for Strain Mapping Applications
journal, November 2005
- Tong, W.
- Strain, Vol. 41, Issue 4
Towards High Performance Digital Volume Correlation
journal, December 2010
- Gates, M.; Lambros, J.; Heath, M. T.
- Experimental Mechanics, Vol. 51, Issue 4
Identifying the Cause of Rupture of Li-Ion Batteries during Thermal Runaway
journal, October 2017
- Finegan, Donal P.; Darcy, Eric; Keyser, Matthew
- Advanced Science, Vol. 5, Issue 1
Thermally Driven SOFC Degradation in 4D: Part I. Microscale
journal, January 2018
- Heenan, T. M. M.; Lu, X.; Iacoviello, F.
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 11
Thermally Driven SOFC Degradation in 4D: Part II. Macroscale
journal, January 2018
- Heenan, T. M. M.; Lu, X.; Robinson, J. B.
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 11
Quantitative analysis of micro structural and conductivity evolution of Ni-YSZ anodes during thermal cycling based on nano-computed tomography
journal, December 2011
- Guan, Yong; Gong, Yunhui; Li, Wenjie
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, Issue 24
Fundamental mechanisms involved in the degradation of nickel–yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni–YSZ) anode during solid oxide fuel cells operation: A review
journal, January 2016
- Khan, Muhammad Shirjeel; Lee, Seung-Bok; Song, Rak-Hyun
- Ceramics International, Vol. 42, Issue 1
4D analysis of the microstructural evolution of Si-based electrodes during lithiation: Time-lapse X-ray imaging and digital volume correlation
journal, July 2016
- Paz-Garcia, J. M.; Taiwo, O. O.; Tudisco, E.
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 320
Three-dimensional reconstruction of a solid-oxide fuel-cell anode
journal, June 2006
- Wilson, James R.; Kobsiriphat, Worawarit; Mendoza, Roberto
- Nature Materials, Vol. 5, Issue 7
Properties and development of Ni/YSZ as an anode material in solid oxide fuel cell: A review
journal, August 2014
- Shri Prakash, B.; Senthil Kumar, S.; Aruna, S. T.
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 36
TomoWarp2: A local digital volume correlation code
journal, January 2017
- Tudisco, Erika; Andò, Edward; Cailletaud, Rémi
- SoftwareX, Vol. 6
Understanding the thermo-mechanical behaviour of solid oxide fuel cell anodes using synchrotron X-ray diffraction
journal, January 2018
- Heenan, T. M. M.; Robinson, J. B.; Lu, X.
- Solid State Ionics, Vol. 314
Investigating the effect of thermal gradients on stress in solid oxide fuel cell anodes using combined synchrotron radiation and thermal imaging
journal, August 2015
- Robinson, James B.; Brown, Leon D.; Jervis, Rhodri
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 288
Application of solid oxide fuel cell technology for power generation—A review
journal, April 2013
- Choudhury, Arnab; Chandra, H.; Arora, A.
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 20
Correlation between triple phase boundary and the microstructure of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell anodes: The role of composition, porosity and Ni densification
journal, October 2017
- Lu, Xuekun; Heenan, Thomas M. M.; Bailey, Josh J.
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 365
Three-Dimensional Microstructural Imaging of Sulfur Poisoning-Induced Degradation in a Ni-YSZ Anode of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
journal, June 2014
- Harris, William M.; Lombardo, Jeffrey J.; Nelson, George J.
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 4, Issue 1
Three-Phase Segmentation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode Materials Using Lab Based X-ray Nano-Computed Tomography
journal, February 2017
- Heenan, T. M. M.; Bailey, J. J.; Lu, X.
- Fuel Cells, Vol. 17, Issue 1
NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis
journal, June 2012
- Schneider, Caroline A.; Rasband, Wayne S.; Eliceiri, Kevin W.
- Nature Methods, Vol. 9, Issue 7
Degradation of nickel–yttria-stabilized zirconia anode in solid oxide fuel cells under changing temperature and humidity conditions
journal, September 2014
- Lee, Yi-Hsuan; Muroyama, Hiroki; Matsui, Toshiaki
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 262
Stress analysis of solid oxide fuel cell anode microstructure reconstructed from focused ion beam tomography
journal, November 2011
- Clague, R.; Shearing, P. R.; Lee, P. D.
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, Issue 21
Chemical durability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Influence of impurities on long-term performance
journal, November 2011
- Sasaki, Kazunari; Haga, Kengo; Yoshizumi, Tomoo
- Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, Issue 22
Figures / Tables found in this record: