• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.12 s.295
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• pp.775-780
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• 2006

Mechanical and electrical performance of anode-supported SOFC single cells were analyzed after thermal cyclic operation. The experiments of thermal cyclic cell-operation were carried out four times and performance of each cell was measured at different temperatures of 650, 700, and $750^{\circ}C$, respectively. As increasing the number of thermal cycle test, single cells showed poor I-V characteristics and lower 4-point bending strength. The anode polarization was also measured by AC-impedance analysis. The observation of the microstructure of the anodes in single cells proved that the average particle size of Ni decreased and the porosity of anode increased. It is thought that the thermal cycle caused the degradation of performance of single cells by reducing the density of three-phase boundary region.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.404-411
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• 2012

The reliability of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) particularly depends on the high quality of solid oxide electrolytes. The application of thinner electrolytes and multi electrolyte layers requires a more reliable characterization method. Most of the investigations on thin film solid electrolytes have been made for the parallel transport along the interface, which is not however directly related to the fuel cell performance of those electrolytes. In this work an array of ion-blocking metallic Ti/Au microelectrodes with about a $160{\mu}m$ diameter was applied on top of an ultrathin ($1{\mu}m$) yttria-stabilized-zirconia/gadolinium-doped-ceria (YSZ/GDC) heterolayer solid electrolyte in a micro-SOFC prepared by PLD as well as an 8-${\mu}m$ thick YSZ layer by screen printing, to study the transport characteristics in the perpendicular direction relevant for fuel cell operation. While the capacitance variation in the electrode area supported the working principle of the measurement technique, other local variations could be related to the quality of the electrolyte layers and deposited electrode points. While the small electrode size and low temperature measurements increaseed the electrolyte resistances enough for the reliable estimation, the impedance spectra appeared to consist of only a large electrode polarization. Modulus representation distinguished two high frequency responses with resistance magnitude differing by orders of magnitude, which can be ascribed to the gadolinium-doped ceria buffer electrolyte layer with a 200 nm thickness and yttria-stabilized zirconia layer of about $1{\mu}m$. The major impedance response was attributed to the resistance due to electron hole conduction in GDC due to the ion-blocking top electrodes with activation energy of 0.7 eV. The respective conductivity values were obtained by model analysis using empirical Havriliak-Negami elements and by temperature adjustments with respect to the conductivity of the YSZ layers.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.357-364
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• 2018

Studies on the production of biogas from third generation biomass, such as micro- and macroalgae, have been conducted through experiments of various scales. In this paper, we investigated the feasibility of commercialization of integrated combined heat and power (CHP) production using biogas derived from macroalgae, i.e., seaweed biomass. For this purpose, an integrated CHP plant of industrial scale, consisting of solid oxide fuel cells, gas turbine and organic Rankine cycle, was designed and simulated using a commercial process simulator. The cost of each equipment in the plant was estimated through the calculated heat and mass balances from simulation and then the techno-economic analysis was performed. The designed integrated CHP process produces 68.4 MW of power using $36ton\;h^{-1}$ of biogas from $62.5ton\;h^{-1}$ (dry basis) of brown algae. Based on these results, various scenarios were evaluated economically and the levelized electricity cost (LEC) was calculated. When the lifetime of SOFC is 5 years and its stack price is $$225kW^{-1}$, the LEC was 12.26 ¢ $kWh^{-1}$, which is comparable to the conventional fixed power generation.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.2256-2261
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• 2015

In the power plant using high temperature fuel cells such as Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell(MCFC), and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell(SOFC), the generated electric power per area of power generation facilities is much higher than any other renewable energy sources. - High temperature fuel cell systems are capable of operating at MW rated power output. - It also has a feature that is short for length of the line for connecting the interior of the generation facilities. In normal condition, these points are advantages for voltage drops or power losses. However, in abnormal condition such as fault occurrence in electrical system, the fault currents are increased, because of the small impedance of the short length of power cable. Commonly, to minimize the thermal-mechanical stresses on the stack and increase the systems reliability, we divided the power plant configuration to several banks for parallel operation. However, when a fault occurs in the parallel operation system of power main transformer, the fault currents might exceed the interruption capacity of protective devices. In fact, although the internal voltage level of the fuel cell power plant is the voltage level of distribution systems, we should install the circuit breakers for transmission systems due to fault current. To resolve these problems, the SFCL has been studied as one of the noticeable devices. Therefore, we analyzed the effect of application of the SFCL on bus tie in a fuel cell power plants system using PSCAD/EMTDC.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.295-299
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• 2015

In this paper to improve the ionic conduction properties, lanthanum silicate apatite $La_{9.33}(SiO_4)_6O_2$ ceramic, which substituted by V ions at Si-site, were fabricated by the mixed-oxide method. And we investigated the structural and electrical properties of $La_{9.33}(Si_{6-x}V_x)O_{26}$ specimens with variation of dopants for the application of solid oxide fuel cells. The sintering temperature of $La_{9.33}(Si_{6-x}V_x)O_{26}$ specimens decreased from $1,600^{\circ}C$ to $1,400^{\circ}C$. As results of X-ray diffraction patterns, all $La_{9.33}(Si_{6-x}V_x)O_{26}$ specimens showed the formation of a complete solid solution in a apatite polycrystallin structure. But the specimens doped with more than 1.5mol% showed the second phase, $La_2SiO_5$ and $SiO_2$. The specimen dopants with 1.0 mol% showed the maximum ion conductivity. Ion conducting and activation energy of the $La_{9.33}(Si_5V_1)O_26$ specimens were about $7.8{\times}10^{-4}S/cm$ 1.62 eV at $600^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.705-712
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• 2000

In this study, the dispersion stability of CeO2 based complex oxide was studied, and density, porosity, and microstructure of green body were investigated using colloid surface chemistry to manufacture the Gd2O3 doped CeO2 solid electrolyte in an aqueous system. To prepare the stable slurry for slip casting, the dispersion stability was examined as a function of pH using ESA(electrokinetic sonic anplitude) analysis. The dynamic mobility of particles was enhanced with anionic and cationic dispersant were added the amount of 0.5wt% respectively, but pH value in slurries didn't move to below 6.0 because of the influence of dopants. This phenomenon also appeared in the CeO2-Y2O3 and CeO2-Sm2O3 systems, so it could be inferred that rare earth dopants such as Gd2O3, Sm2O3 and Y2O3 not only have the similar motion with changing pH in an aqueous system but also can be dissolved in the range of pH 6.0∼6.5. In CeO2-Gd2O3 system, when the anionic dispersant was added the amount of 0.5wt% and pH value in slurries was fixed at 9.5, the green body density was 4.07g/㎤, and the relative density of sintered body was 95.2%. It could be inferred from XRD analysis that Gd3+ substituted into Ce4+ site because there was no free Gd2O3 peak.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1998

For the purpose of finding new cathode materials for medium-temperature $(700\~800^{\circ}C)$ solid oxide fuel cells, $Gd_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3,\;(x=0.0\~0.5)$ are prepared, and their thermal stability and conductivity characteristics are investigated. Also, the cathodic activities are measured after the cathode layer being attached on CGO (cerium-gadolinium oxide) electrolyte disk. The X-ray analyses indicate that the materials prepared by calcining the citrate-gels at $800^{\circ}C$ have the orthorhombic perovskite structure without discernible impurities. The thermal stability of the undoped Co perovskite is so poor that it is decomposed to the individual binary oxide even at $1300^{\circ}C$. But the partially Fe-doped cobaltates exhibit a better thermal stability to retain their structural integrity up to $1400^{\circ}C$. The observation whereby both the undoped and Fe-doped cobaltates melt at ca. $1300^{\circ}C$ leads us to perform the electrode adhesion at <$1300^{\circ}C$. The cathodic activity of $Gd_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3,\;(x=0.0\~0.5)$, electrodes is superior to $La_{0.9}Sr_{0.1}MnO_3$, among the samples of $x=0.0\~0.5$, the x=0.2 cathode shows the best activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. It is likely that the Fe-doping provides a better thermal stability to the materials but in turn imparts an inferior cathodic activity, such that the optimum trade-off is made at x=0.2 between the two factors. The total electrical conductivity and ion conductivity of $Gd_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$, are measured to be 51 S/cm and $6.0\times10^{-4}S/cm\;at\;800^{\circ}C$, respectively. The conductivity values illustrate that the materials are a mixed conductor and the reaction sites can be expanded to the overall electrode surface, thereby providing a better cathodic activity than $La_{0.9}Sr_{0.1}MnO_3$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.786-789
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• 2011

In order to estimate the possibility of applying electrolytes generally used in solid oxide fuel cells(SOFCs) to direct carbon fuel cells(DCFCs), properties of YSZ(yttria stabilized zirconia) electrolyte were evaluated. In this study, vacuum slurry coating method was adapted to coat thin layer on anode support substrate. After sintering the electrolyte at $1400^{\circ}C$ for 5hrs, microstructure was analyzed by using SEM image. Also, gas permeability and ionic conductivity were measured to find out the potential possibility of electrolyte for DCFCs. The YSZ electrolyte represented dense coating layer and low gas permeability value. The ionic conductivity of YSZ electrolyte was high over $800^{\circ}C$. After measurement of the electrolyte properties, direct carbon fuel cell was fabricated and its performance was measured at $800^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.782-787
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• 2008

Ni-ceria cermets have been extensively investigated as candidates for the anode in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. We have used the citric method to synthesize nanocomposite powders consisting of NiO (Ni metal content: $40{\sim}60%$ by volume) highly dispersed in $Ce_{0.9}Gd_{0.1}O_{1.95}$ (CGO). The microstructure characteristics and sintering behaviors of the nanocomposites were investigated. No impurity phases were observed and the shrinkage of these substrates matched well with that of a CGO electrolyte with a specific surface area of $11\;m^2/g$. Densification of the CGO electrolyte layer to $<5\;{\mu}m$ thickness was achieved by co-firing the laminated electrolyte with the porous NiO-CGO substrate at $1400^{\circ}C$ for 6 h.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.103.1-103.1
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• 2011

고체 산화물 연료전지(SOFC)는 크게 음극(anode), 양극(cathode), 전해질(electrolyte)로 구성되 있으며 연결자를 통해 직렬 또는 병렬로 연결된 형태로 발전장치 등에 활용되고 있다. 이중 연료의 산화반응을 담당하고 있는 연료전지의 음극으로 지금까지 Cobalt, Platinum, Palladium 등의 전이금속 또는 귀금속들이 사용되었지만 현재는 Nickel 또는 Nickel을 함유한 물질들 특히, Ni-YSZ 복합체가 주로 사용되고 있다. Ni-YSZ 복합체는 가격과 성능 등 여러가지 면에서 SOFC의 음극으로 사용하기에 가장 적합한 물질인데 특히 전지의 지지체 역할과 동시에 전극으로서의 역할도 병행해야하는 음극 지지형 SOFC의 경우 Ni-YSZ 복합체의 효용성을 더욱 커지게 된다. 본 연구에서는 SOFC의 음극물질로 가장 널리 쓰이고 있는 Ni-YSZ 복합체를 core shell 형태로 만들어 전도 path를 효율적으로 하고 그 특성을 최적화하기 위한 미세구조 및 소결 거동, 전기적 특성을 평가하였다.