Measuring Porosity of Anodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) through Water Archimedeans Porosimetry

Syed Mubashar Hassan¹, Syed Ali Hasnain²

¹School of Engineering and Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
²Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design, School of Energy, Geosciences, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.

DOI: 10.4236/jpee.2015.36005                

Abstract

The present research is aimed to measure the porosity of anodes in solid oxide fuel cell through water Archimedeans method. There are various alternatives available to replace fossil fuel cells like nuclear power, wind energy, solar energy, bio fuel, and geothermal and fuel cells. Among all the alternatives of fossil fuel, one form of energy production that stands out from the rest and promises a sustainable future energy is fuel cell. Moreover, it offers many advantages in contrast to other forms of energy generation. An Archimedean approach for water immersion porosimetry is carried out. Some of the results are beyond rational limits, and given negative and sometime above 100 percent porosity. The reasons for these unacceptable results are either due to water ingress into the sample or the sample turns into buoyant due to air in the cling film. The results from Archimedean porosimetry should only be used qualitatively due to errors associated with the results. It is also noted that Archimedean porosimetry is not the ideal technique for measuring the porosity of coated samples. It is suggested that larger samples should be analyzed that will help to minimize the weighing errors.

Keywords

Solid Oxide, Fuel Cell, Porosity, Anodes, Archimedeans

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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