Masayuki Nakao

J056053 Control of an array of Ni and YSZ in an anode of SOFC

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) consist of three layers; a cathode, an electrolyte and an anode. The anode is made by three phases; Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), Ni and pore. In the anode, O 2 , electrons, and gases pass through in YSZ, Ni and pore, respectively. In conventional anode, the three phases are uniformly distributed and the structure is not always appropriate for the paths of O 2, electrons and gases. Our purpose is increase of the generating efficiency of SOFCs by aligning the three phases in the direction of thickness. When Ni, YSZ and pore phases are aligned, resistance of electron, O 2and gases are improved. In this study, we propose a novel method in which Ni particles are aligned by a magnetic field. The cross section of the anode is observed by scanning electron microscopy. The length of connection in the thickness direction of Ni particles with magnetic field was longer than that with non magnetic field. The maximum power density with magnetic field was at most 1.6 times as high as that with non magnetic field.