Evaluation of nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia anode degradation during discharge operation and redox cycles operation by electrochemical calculation

Degradation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) anode during discharge operation and redox cycles operation were evaluated by three-dimensional electrochemical calculations using a Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Three dimensional microstructures were obtained by Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) reconstruction. In the electrochemical calculations, changes in exchange current density and ionic conductivity of Yttria stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) during the operations were assumed and their values were calculated by fitting the calculated overpotential values to the experimental ones. Changes in triple phase boundary density calculated from the reconstructed microstructures were inconsistent with the gradual degradation observed during repeated redox-discharge cycles. Changes of the fitted exchange current density and YSZ ionic conductivity values in both discharge operation and redox cycle operation showed same tendency as the experimental results. Change in exchange current density or YSZ ionic conductivity should be considered as an essential factor which governs the cell performance change regardless of the redox treatment.