Control of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Damage using Infrared Thermography

The high operating temperature of planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), can cause serious damage such as cathode delamination or cracking of the SOFC layers, which cause a decrease in the performance of the latter, a rigorous nondestructive inspection is necessary, in particular that their prices are high. In this paper we have treated thermal control by pulsed infrared thermography of the solid oxide fuel cells electrodes, using 3D finite elements method. We did a simulation of the internal state, which reflects the reality of the defective cells by means of parameters involving the size and position of defects. The thermal images obtained were processed, and a quantitative analysis was performed to obtain information concerning cracks in electrolyte supported and anode supported planar cells, and cathode delamination in electrolyte supported and cathode supported cells. The results obtained as the temperature distribution in the fuel cells, with and without defects, shows the difference between the flawed and the unflawed cells. The thermal response informs us about the presence of the defects, and in addition it informed us about their depths.