A ceramic fuel cell in an all solid-state energy conversion device that produces electricity by electrochemically combining fuel and oxidant gases across an ionic conducting oxide. Current ceramic fuel cells use an oxygen-ion conductor or a proton conductor as the electrolyte and operate at high temperatures (>600°C). Ceramic fuel cells, commonly referred to as solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), are presently under development for a variety of power generation applications. This paper reviews the science and technology of ceramic fuel cells and discusses the critical issues posed by the development of this type of fuel cell. The emphasis is given to the discussion of component materials (especially, ZrO2 electrolyte, nickel/ZrO2 cermet anode, LaMnO3 cathode, and LaCrO3 interconnect), gas reactions at the electrodes, stack designs, and processing techniques used in the fabrication of required ceramic structures.

Ceramic Fuel Cells

Materials Challenges in Nuclear Energy

Despite being first demonstrated over 160 years ago, and offering significant environmental benefits and high electrical efficiency, it is only in the last two decades that fuel cells have offered a realistic prospect of being commercially viable. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) offers great promise and is presently the subject of intense research activity. Unlike other fuel cells the SOFC is a solid-state device which operates at elevated temperatures. This review discusses the particular issues facing the development of a high temperature solid-state fuel cell and the inorganic materials currently used and under investigation for such cells, together with the problems associated with operating SOFCs on practical hydrocarbon fuels.

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Solid oxide fuel cells

Progress in material selection for solid oxide fuel cell technology: A review

Present review is aimed at providing a state-of-art development of anode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with principal emphasis on the materials aspect. The criteria for the anode of SOFC are first presented. The prospects and problems of the currently developed anode materials are elucidated. In particular, the electrochemical properties of the Ni/YSZ cermet anode that is the most commonly employed in the establishment of SOFC stack is described along with various approaches attempted for their improvements. The advantages and disadvantages of other anode materials are compared to offer some insights for the research and development of new generation of anode materials for SOFC.

A review on the status of anode materials for solid oxide fuel cells

A lithium cooled self-pumped limiter has been designed as the impurity control system for the TPSS high-..beta.. power reactor conceptual design. The limiter removes helium by trapping impinging helium ions in freshly deposited vanadium surface layers in a slot region. No hydrogen is removed and no pumps or vacuum penetrations are used, thereby eliminating penetration shielding and reducing tritium handling. The limiter is composed of a vanadium alloy structure with a 2mm tungsten cladding on the front face and leading edges for sputtering control. Up to approx.3cm of vanadium trapping material is deposited in the slot region during 5 years of operation. A key design feature is the use of a calcium oxide electrical insulator which coats the limiter coolant channels to reduce MHD pressure drops. A combination of high lithium coolant velocity, made possible by the insulator, and mid-limiter manifolding has been used to obtain acceptable material temperatures with moderately high heat fluxes (3 to 5 mw/m/sup 2/). Overall, a limiter lifetime of approx.5 years is predicted by stress and lifetime analysis. This would permit maintenance free impurity control operation between first wall/blanket replacement periods. 4 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

Engineering design of a liquid metal cooled self-pumped limiter for a tokamak reactor

/pdf/online-stress-corrosion-crack-and-fatigue-usages-factor-1u87qfb87o.pdf

Online stress corrosion crack and fatigue usages factor monitoring and prognostics in light water reactor components: Probabilistic modeling, system identification and data fusion based big data analytics approach

Investigation on behavior of trapezoidal through-wall cracks under constant pressure loading

To detect degradation in steam generator (SG) tubes, periodic inspection using non-destructive examination techniques, such as an eddy current testing, is a common practice. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate and validate the reliability of the eddy current technique for ensuring the structural integrity of the SG tubes. The eddy current technique could be evaluated by comparing the data estimated by the eddy current with the destructive examination data of field cracks, which would be both costly and labor intensive. A viable alternative to pulled tube data is to manufacture crack specimens that closely represent actual field cracks in laboratory environments. A crack manufacturing method that can be conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions is proposed. The method was applied to manufacture different types of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) specimens: axial outer-diameter (OD) SCC for straight tubes, circumferential ODSCC and primary water SCC (PWSCC) at hydraulic expansion transition regions, axial PWSCC at the apex and tangential regions of U-bend tubes. To help the growth of SCC into the tube, corrosive chemicals (sodium tetrathionate) and tensile stress were applied. Eddy current and destructive examination data for SCC specimens were compared with the available field crack data to determine whether those SCC specimens are representative. It was determined that the proposed method could manufacture the representative crack specimens.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

Manufacturing Stress Corrosion Cracking Tube Specimens for Eddy Current Technique Evaluation

/pdf/a-deterministic-and-probabilistic-framework-for-forecasting-274382mmac.pdf

A Deterministic and Probabilistic Framework for Forecasting of Time-Series Damage States and Associated End-of-lIfe of a Pressurizer Water Reactor Surge Line under Design-Basis and Grid-Load-Following Loading Conditions

Saurin Majumdar

Papers

Engineering design of a liquid metal cooled self-pumped limiter for a tokamak reactor

Online stress corrosion crack and fatigue usages factor monitoring and prognostics in light water reactor components: Probabilistic modeling, system identification and data fusion based big data analytics approach

Investigation on behavior of trapezoidal through-wall cracks under constant pressure loading

Manufacturing Stress Corrosion Cracking Tube Specimens for Eddy Current Technique Evaluation

A Deterministic and Probabilistic Framework for Forecasting of Time-Series Damage States and Associated End-of-lIfe of a Pressurizer Water Reactor Surge Line under Design-Basis and Grid-Load-Following Loading Conditions