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An external-manifold solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack has been developed in this study. The anode supported cells were fabricated by tape casting, screen-printing and co-sintering and were measured to be 110 mm × 110 mm in dimension. Computer simulation was employed to study and optimize the gas distribution in the external manifold. A relative uniformed flow field was achieved. The 10-cell stack was operated at 750 °C with hydrogen as fuel and air as oxidant, reached open circuit voltage (OCV) of 11.8 V, and generated output power of 360W (power density of 0.44 W/cm2). The degradation performance was investigated for about 700 hours at the current density of 370 mA/cm2. The purpose was to investigate some factors related to the performance degradation of stack such as microstructure of cell, sealing, contact resistance and oxidation of metal interconnect.

solid oxide fuel cells; external manifold; performance; degradation; gas distribution