Development of an In Situ Surface Deformation and Temperature Measurement Technique for a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Button Cell

A novel experimental technique is developed to measure the in situ surface deformation and temperature of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode surface along with the cell electrochemical performance. The experimental setup consists of a NexTech Probostat ™ SOFC button cell test apparatus integrated with a Sagnac interferometric optical method and an infrared sensor for in situ surface deformation and temperature measurements, respectively. The button cell is fed with hydrogen or simulated coal syngas under SOFC operating conditions. The surface deformation is measured over time to estimate the anode structural degradation. The cell surface transient temperature is also monitored with different applied current densities under hydrogen and simulated coal syngas. The experimental results are useful to validate and develop SOFC structural durability and electrochemical models.