Development of anode-supported SOFC with metallic interconnectors

High stability against thermal cycles was achieved in a SOFC stack with metallic interconnects and anode-supported cells at a reduced operating temperature of 1023 K. The basic structual design of a cell stack that is capable of mitigating thermal stresses and is mechanically robust, even under fast startup and shutdown cycles, has been completed. The degradation rate was found to be less than 1% per cycle in thermal cycle tests of single- and three-cell stacks from room temperature to 1023 K at a heating rate of 200 K/h. Even in a thermal cycle test of a 10-cell stack, no cells were cracked. Simulation of thermal stresses between room temperature and 1023 K confirms the experimental results. By simple surface modification treatment of metallic components, a stable stack operation was achieved, with a degradation rate of less than 5% per 1000 h.