Phase-Field Modelling of Microstructure Evolution in Solid Oxide Cells

The performance degradation of Solid Oxide Cells (SOC) caused by microstructure evolution limits the SOC's lifetime. Long-term testing combined with post-mortem characterization is one common approach to clarify degradation mechanisms and develop counter-acting measures, but this is associated with extensive amount of experimental work and long research time. Instead, many researchers have devoted their efforts to investigating degradation using computational methods. The phase-field model has been utilized in the SOC research to illustrate the microstructure evolution during long-term operation from micron to millimeter scale, with the possibility of taking into account the mechanical properties as well. In this article, the principle of the phase-field method and different models are introduced first, followed by examples published in literature on phase-field modeling of various degradation phenomena in SOCs. Finally, possible strategies coupling modelling and experimental research in optimizing SOC performance and microstructure are discussed.