Experimental investigation and numerical on twin-tube series-connected tubular SOFC

LIU Jingjing; LIN Zeyu; JIAN Junhui; LUO Xu; YAO Yue; TAO Tao; LU Shengguo; LIANG Bo

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.1125

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Experimental investigation and numerical on twin-tube series-connected tubular SOFC

Energy Storage Materials and Devices | 更新时间：2026-07-13

- Experimental investigation and numerical on twin-tube series-connected tubular SOFC
- Energy Storage Science and Technology Vol. 15, Issue 6, Pages: 2130-2138(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.广东工业大学材料与能源学院，广东广州 510006
  2.北京工业大学机电学院，北京 100081
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.1125
  CLC： TM 911.4
- Received：15 December 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-01-29，
  
  Published：28 June 2026
- 稿件说明：
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刘晶晶, 林泽宇, 简俊辉, 等. 管式SOFC双管串联结构的实验验证与数值模拟[J]. 储能科学与技术, 2026, 15(6): 2130-2138.

LIU Jingjing, LIN Zeyu, JIAN Junhui, et al. Experimental investigation and numerical on twin-tube series-connected tubular SOFC[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2026, 15(6): 2130-2138.
刘晶晶, 林泽宇, 简俊辉, 等. 管式SOFC双管串联结构的实验验证与数值模拟[J]. 储能科学与技术, 2026, 15(6): 2130-2138. DOI： 10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.1125.

LIU Jingjing, LIN Zeyu, JIAN Junhui, et al. Experimental investigation and numerical on twin-tube series-connected tubular SOFC[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2026, 15(6): 2130-2138. DOI： 10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.1125.

摘要

本研究采用冷等静压与无心研磨工艺制备出厚度为88 μm的3YSZ电解质管。该制备方法使电解质管的断裂载荷为56.64 MPa，显著超过电堆组装所需的20 MPa的强度要求，展现出优异的机械稳定性。基于此，在电解质管两端加工十字形凹槽，并使用银浆和银线作为连接体，构建双管串联固体氧化物燃料电池单元。该设计不仅提供了稳定的机械支撑，而且通过银线环形集流取电，实现了稳定的电流传导。实验结果表明，在900℃氢气氛围下运行时，串联单元的开路电压达到2.01 V，峰值功率输出为1.92 W，性能接近单电池的2倍。在1.3 V恒压条件下对串联双管电池进行60 h放电测试，电流密度稳定维持在约120 mA/cm

且无显著衰减，这表明串联结构在长周期放电中，电化学过程具有优异的稳定性。通过结合实验测试与三维多物理场数值模拟，实现了对内部电流密度、气体分布及扩散流线的可视化分析，清晰揭示了电流经十字形凹槽与环形结构的完整传导路径，并证实了反应区域与传输特性的均匀性。模拟结果与实验数据的高度一致性，充分验证了该串联连接设计的有效性。这项工作不仅提出了一种管式SOFC串联结构方案，还通过多物理场仿真深入揭示了其内部工作机制，为高性能固体氧化物燃料电池系统的优化设计提供了重要依据。

Abstract

In this study

we fabricated electrolyte tubes of 3% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) with a precisely controlled thickness of 88 μm through a synergistic fabrication approach that combines cold isostatic pressing (CIP) with centerless grinding. The resulting electrolyte tubes exhibited high mechanical strength

achieving a fracture load of 56.64 MPa

significantly surpassing the 20 MPa threshold required for stack assembly

thereby demonstrating exceptional structural integrity. The thickness of the electrolyte layer is approximately (88.0 ± 3.5) μm

representing a reduction of about 40% compare to the 20 μm typically used in conventional electrolyte-supported solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs); we expect this to lower the ohmic resistance and improve the overall performance of the cell. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses reveal the uniform distribution of zirconium (Zr) and yttrium (Y) in the YSZ electrolyte layer and at the interface. Optimized CIP and gradient-sintering processes increased the length of the triple-phase boundary

suppressed side reactions and crack formation

and significantly enhanced ionic transport kineti

cs and structural stability. Building on this mechanical reliability

we precision machined cross-shaped grooves at both ends of the electrolyte tubes

and we employed silver paste combined with silver wires as the interconnect to construct a twin-tube series SOFC unit. This design not only ensures robust mechanical anchoring but also facilitates efficient current conduction through a ring-shaped silver-wire current collector

thereby enhancing overall electrical continuity. The experimental characterizations revealed that when operated at 900°C under a hydrogen (H

) atmosphere

the series-connected unit achieved an open-circuit voltage of 2.01 V and attained a peak power output of 1.92 W

with performance metrics nearly doubling those of a single-cell counterpart. Furthermore

under a sustained constant voltage of 1.3 V

the series-connected twin-tube assembly underwent a rigorous 60-hour discharge test

during which the current density remained remarkably stable at approximately 120 mA/cm

without discernible performance degradation. This shows that the series structure has excellent electrochemical-process stability during long-period discharges. By integrating experimental measurements with three-dimensional multiphysics numerical simulations

we achieved visualization of the internal current density

gas distributions

and diffusion streamlines. These analyses clearly revealed the complete current-conduction pathway through the cross-groove and annular structures and confirmed the uniformity of the reaction zones and mass-transport characteristics. The close agreement between the simulation results and the experimental results validates the effectiveness of the proposed series-connection design. In this work

we not only have proposed a novel tubular SOFC series configuration but also have provided mechanistic insights through multiphysics modeling

offering a critical foundation for the optimization of high-performance solid-oxide fuel-cell systems.

关键词

Keywords

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