PNNL

Abstract

Quantitative understanding of the evolving thermal-mechanical properties of a multi-phase material hinges upon the availability of quantitative statistically representative microstructure descriptions. Questions then arise as to whether a two-dimensional (2D) or a three-dimensional (3D) representative volume element (RVE) should be considered as the statistically representative microstructure. Although 3D models are more representative than 2D models in general, they are usually computationally expensive and difficult to be reconstructed. In this paper, we evaluate the accuracy of a 2D RVE in predicting the property degradations induced by different degradation mechanisms with the multiphase solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode material as an example. Both 2D and 3D microstructure RVEs of the anodes are adopted to quantify the effects of two different degradation mechanisms: humidity-induced electrochemical degradation and phosphorus poisoning induced structural degradation. The predictions of the 2D model are then compared with the available experimental measurements and the results from the 3D model. It is found that the 2D model, limited by its inability of reproducing the realistic electrical percolation, is unable to accurately predict the degradation of thermo-electrical properties. On the other hand, for the phosphorus poisoning induced structural degradation, both 2D and 3D microstructures yield similar results, indicating that the 2D model is capable of providing computationally efficient yet accurate results for studying the structural degradation within the anodes.