Thermally Sprayed Large Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Its Stack: Geometry Optimization, Preparation, and Performance

In this study, we develop a large tubular solid oxide fuel cells design with several cells in series on a porous cermet support, which has many characteristics such as self-sealing, low Ohmic loss, high strength, and good thermal expansion coefficient matching. Here, we investigate aspects of the cell design, manufacture, performance, and application. Firstly, the cell length and number of cells in series are optimized by theoretical analysis. Then, thermal spraying is applied as a cost-effective method to prepare all the cell components. Finally, the performance of different types of cells and two types of stacks is characterized. The maximum output power of one tube, which had 20 cells in series, reaches 31 and 40.5 W at 800 and 900 °C, respectively. Moreover, the output power of a stack assembled with 56 tubes, each with ten cells in series, reaches 800 W at 830 °C. The excellent single tube and cell stack performance suggest that thermally sprayed tubular SOFCs have significant potential for commercialized application.