Thermomechanical deformation analysis of a tubular solid oxide steam electrolysis cell.

Kurushina, Victoria; Rajendran, Vinooth; Prathuru, Anil; Hossain, Mamdud; Faisal, Nadimul; Soman, Ajith; Horri, Bahman; Cai, Qiong

Abstract

Technologies behind electrolysis cells for hydrogen production are making progress in terms of portability, cost reduction, performance enhancement, prolonged operation, and integration in stacks and with existing power infrastructure. The solid oxide steam electrolysis technology is well suited for integration with existing sources of heat and electricity given its high temperature operation. This would lead to higher efficiencies compared to other electrolyser technologies. In this study, a tubular solid oxide steam electrolysis (SOSE) cell has been investigated for high-temperature conditions. The electrolysing reaction in the SOSE occurs across a series of layers, typical composition of which comprises multiple materials (metallics, ceramics). This means a significant mismatch in the thermomechanical behavior at a high temperature which leads to the damage build up over long operation times. To analyse the combined effect of boundary conditions, material composition, porosity variation, and pressure in the internal gas channel, a series of thermomechanical simulations using finite element analysis (FEA) technique has been performed for a tubular solid oxide cell design. The results indicate a significant tube elongation, which leads to stress accumulation near the fixed end connections. The maximum deformation is found to increase by about 1.4 times with the temperature elevation from 600 to 800 C for non-porous materials. These effects can be substantially reduced if porous structures are used.

Citation

KURUSHINA, V., RAJENDRAN, V., PRATHURU, A., HOSSAIN, M., FAISAL, N., SOMAN, A., HORRI, B.A. and CAI, Q. 2023. Thermomechanical deformation analysis of a tubular solid oxide steam electrolysis cell. In Proceedings of the 34th Thermal and fluid analysis workshop 2023 (TFAWS 2023), 21-25 August 2023, Maryland, USA. Washington: NASA [online], article number TFAWS23-ID-7. Available from: https://tfaws.nasa.gov/tfaws23/proceedings/

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 34th Thermal and fluid analysis workshop 2023 (TFAWS 2023)
• Start Date: Aug 21, 2023
• End Date: Aug 25, 2023
• Acceptance Date: Aug 7, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2023
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2023
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 27, 2023
• Publisher: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Solid oxide steam electrolysis (SOE); Hydrogen; Oxygen; Water electrolysis; Electrochemistry; Fluid dynamics analysis; Thermomechanical
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2098056
• Publisher URL: https://tfaws.nasa.gov/tfaws23/proceedings/
• Additional Information: The file associated with this output contains the article and presentation slide which have been combined into a single file on this repository the original files are available from: https://tfaws.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/TFAWS23-ID-7-Presentation.pdf (SLIDES) and https://tfaws.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/TFAWS23-ID-7-Paper.pdf (PAPER).