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Mechanical degradation of Solid Oxide Cells: impact of operating and failure modes on the performances


Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DES-26-0489  

Thesis topic details

Category

Condensed Matter Physics, chemistry, nanosciences

Thesis topics

Mechanical degradation of Solid Oxide Cells: impact of operating and failure modes on the performances

Contract

Thèse

Job description

Solid oxide cells (SOCs) are electrochemical devices operating at high temperature that can directly convert fuel into electricity (fuel cell mode – SOFC) or electricity into fuel (electrolysis mode – SOEC). In recent years, the interest on SOCs has grown significantly thanks to their wide range of technological applications that could offer innovative solutions for the transition toward a renewable energy market. However, despite of all their advantages, the large-scale industrialization of this technology is still hindered by the durability of SOCs. Indeed, the SOCs remain limited by various degradation phenomena including mechanical damage in the electrodes. For instance, the formation of micro-cracks in the so-called ‘hydrogen’ electrode is a major source of degradation. However, the precise mechanism and the full impact of the micro-cracks on the electrode performances are still unknown. By a multi-physic modelling approach, it is proposed in this thesis (i) to simulate the damage in the microstructure of the electrode and (ii) to calculate its impact on the loss of performances. Once the model validated on dedicated experiments, a sensitivity analysis will be conducted to provide relevant guidelines for the manufacturing of improved robust and performant electrodes.

University / doctoral school

Ingénierie - Matériaux - Environnement - Energétique - Procédés - Production (IMEP2)
Université Grenoble Alpes

Thesis topic location

Site

Grenoble

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2026

Person to be contacted by the applicant

HUBERT Maxime maxime.hubert@cea.fr
CEA
DES/DTCH//LES
17 avenue des Martyrs
38054 Grenoble cedex 9
0438784360

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

LAURENCIN Jerôme jerome.laurencin@cea.fr
CEA
DES/DTCH
17 avenue des Martyrs
38054 Grenoble cedex 9
0438782210

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