DOI: 10.1002/fuce.
201100140
Modeling and Optimization of Anode-
Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells on Cell
Parameters via Artificial Neural Network
and Genetic Algorithm
S. Bozorgmehri1,2, and M. Hamedi1*
1
School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, North Kargar at Jalal-Exp Way, Tehran
1439957131, Iran
2
Renewable Energy Department, Niroo Research Institute (NRI), End of Dadman Blvd., Shahrak Ghodes, Tehran 14665517, Iran
Received August 21, 2011; accepted December 21, 2011
Abstract
An artificial neural network (ANN) and a genetic algorithm
(GA) are employed to model and optimize cell parameters
to improve the performance of singular, intermediate-tem-
perature, solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The ANN model
uses a feed-forward neural network with an error back-pro-
pagation algorithm. The ANN is trained using experimental
data as a black-box without using physical models. The
developed model is able to predict the performance of the
SOFC. An optimization algorithm is utilized to select the
optimal SOFC parameters. The optimal values of four cell
1 Introduction
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are recognized as one of the
most promising clean power technologies. They directly con-
vert the chemical energy of fuels into electricity and thermal
energy and are known for their high efficiency, low pollution
emissions, modularity, and fuel flexibility [1]. SOFC technol-
ogy has attracted a considerable amount of research activities,
in order to overcome challenges in SOFC development. The
main challenge is commercializing SOFCs on account of their
high cost; and their technical problems such as thermomecha-
nical issues, sealing requirements under high temperature
operating conditions, rapid degradation of elements causing
decrease in performance, the requirement of a large amount
of extra equipment, and a long start-up time [1, 2]. Modeling
and optimization methods can assist in making SOFC tech-
nology cost-effective.
Mathematical models of SOFCs, developed to employ a
system of multi-physical, chemical, and electrochemical equa-
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
parameters (anode support thickness, anode support poros-
ity, electrolyte thickness, and functional layer cathode thick-
ness) are determined by using the GA under different condi-
tions. The results show that these optimum cell parameters
deliver the highest maximum power density under different
constraints on the anode support thickness, porosity, and
electrolyte thickness.
Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Genetic Algorithm,
Modeling, Optimization, SOFC
tions, have been extensively applied to improve SOFC perfor-
mance and design [3–7]. The mathematical models are gener-
ally derived from thermofluid and thermomechanical
relationships, the Nernst equation, and equations governing
activation, Ohmic, and concentration polarizations. There-
fore, these methods require knowledge about many parame-
ters of the microstructure and electrochemical properties of
the component materials, the operating conditions, the exact
multi-physicochemical processes and the numerical solu-
tions, making for a complicated problem.
Advanced approaches such as artificial neural networks
(ANNs) [8–18] and genetic algorithms (GAs) [18, 19] can be
applied to modeling SOFC systems and used to improve their
performance. An ANN can be used as a black-box tool to
simulate systems without solving the physical equations.
–
[*] Corresponding author, mhamedi@ut.ac.ir
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 Bozorgmehri, Hamedi: Modeling and Optimization of Anode-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
These are based on data obtained from experimental mea-
surements or physical models. In addition, GAs are used to
select optimal points in a design space according to the prin-
cipals of natural selection and genetics. They are powerful
tools for solving a variety of optimization problems with dis-
continuous, non-differentiable, or highly nonlinear objective
functions.
The application of ANNs in SOFC modeling is used to pre-
dict the performance of the physical model, as it was
employed in Refs. [8] and [9]. In both studies, multi-layer
feed-forward networks are trained with a back-propagation
algorithm to learn the performance parameters of the SOFC.
The simulation results show good agreement with the physi-
cal models. However, the cell parameters of the SOFCs are
not considered as inputs or outputs to the ANN models.
Entchev and Yang [10] used real data from a 5 kW system
to model the SOFC performance of residential micro-genera-
tion installations by means of an ANN. Real data about the
SOFC’s start-up, steady-state, and shut-down operations
were applied to train the ANN. The input parameters to the
ANN included the temperatures of the stack, burner combus-
tion, air inlet components, and relevant mass flow rates for
the stack and burner components. The output parameters
were the stack current and voltage. The most efficient net-
work is chosen after testing several network architectures.
A radial basis function (RBF) ANN based on GAs is pro-
posed as a GA-RBF model to simulate SOFC performance
[11–13]. Wu et al. used two datasets of current density and
cell voltage in 3 and 9 bars from another model as training
data at 800 and 1,000 °C [11, 12]. The RBF neural network has
an input layer with two nodes, a nonlinear hidden layer with
three nodes and a linear output layer with one node. A com-
parison between their predictions and the experimental data
is shown along with the precision of their successful predic-
tions in Ref. [11, 12]. A hybrid experimental model, consisting
of an improved RBF neural network model and a pressure-
incremental model, is presented in Ref. [13]. This model can
predict the stack voltage at any current density at different
temperatures and partial pressures of hydrogen, oxygen, and
water.
In Ref. [14], the performances of single cells of an SOFC
are modeled by the ANN using experimental data in the
steady state condition, and the ANN is trained with a back-
propagation algorithm. Different ANN architectures are used
to model and investigate the cell’s operating conditions,
including current density, cell temperature, oxidant composi-
tion, and fuel composition. The cell geometrical parameters,
such as electrolyte thickness, anode thickness, and anode po-
rosity are also considered. The ANN model is shown to be
predicting the cell voltage with relatively high accuracy.
A hybrid model with mathematical and ANN relation-
ships for optimal concurrent SOFC system design is intro-
duced in Ref. [15]. In this optimal design procedure, the tem-
perature and the partial pressure of hydrogen input to the
SOFC stack are calculated as design variables. A new para-
metric design approach with neural network and fuzzy-logic
12 © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
relationships is then optimized by considering the uncertain-
ties presented in Ref. [16].
A hybrid system combining SOFCs and gas turbines
(SOFC/GT) is optimized by the GA with and without CO2-
capture in Ref. [17]. In this research, the electrical efficiency is
selected as the objective function, and the airflow, fuel flows
(main and supplementary), cell voltage in the stacks, air tem-
perature at the stack inlet, reformer duty, and pressure ratio
are the decision parameters.
The genetic programming and RBF neural network
approach are used to model and simulate the static and
dynamic behavior of the SOFC stack presented in Ref. [18]. A
physical model is used to generate the training data and test
data in this research [18]. The results of the genetic program-
ming show significant improvement compared to those of the
RBF neural network. The cell parameters and their optimiza-
tion are not considered.
The porous electrodes of an anode-supported proton-con-
ducting SOFC are optimized by a GA with a physical model
in Ref. [19]. The porosity and particle diameter distributions
of the electrodes are designed for the maximum performance,
but the characteristics of the materials and layers of the SOFC
used in this study are completely different with those pre-
sented in the current paper.
The market demands fuel cells with high output and good
durability. Performance of SOFCs is the most important fac-
tor in the development plan. Anode-supported SOFCs are
one of the promising fuel cell configurations with high per-
formance. These SOFCs as planar single cells generally con-
sist of five layers: an anode support layer (ASL), an anode
functional layer (AFL), an electrolyte layer, a cathode func-
tional layer (CFL), and a cathode current collector layer
(CCCL). The anode layer is often made of nickel and yttria-
stabilized zirconia (Ni/YSZ), and YSZ is used as the electro-
lyte material. A composite cathode material is produced from
strontium-doped lanthanum manganite and YSZ (LSM/
YSZ). The geometrical and physical properties of these layers
play major roles in both the performance and the strength of
a single cell of the SOFC. Research on these multilayer struc-
tures of better performance are reported in Refs. [20–23].
In this paper, a statistical, data-driven approach is used to
optimize the performance of a single cell of an SOFC using a
hybrid architecture employing both an ANN and a GA. The
optimal parameters of the single cell (i.e., anode support
thickness, anode support porosity, electrolyte thickness, and
functional layer cathode thickness) are successfully deter-
mined for a singular, intermediate-temperature, anode-sup-
ported SOFC under different constraint conditions.
2 Modeling and Optimization Methodology
For modeling a single cell of SOFC and optimization of the
performance on cell parameters, a hybrid method of using
artificial intelligence techniques is employed. Firstly, an ANN
is developed to model the relation between the SOFC param-
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

eters and its output. Then, a GA is utilized to
optimize the objective function developed
by ANN method.

2.1 ANN Modeling for SOFC

The ANN is used to model SOFC perfor-
mance using experimental data obtained
from [23]. The ANN is based on a feed-for-
ward neural network, which uses the Leven-
berg–Marquardt back-propagation algo-
rithm to perform the training procedure
with Bayesian regulation. The details of
ANN methodology can be found in Refs.
[24–26]. Commercial MATLAB™ software is
used for the ANN calculations.
The network architecture, shown in Fig-
ure 1, is designed with six inputs, one hid-
den layer, and one output. The ANN SOFC
model has six input parameters, which are Fig. 1 The ANN model structure.
normalized as shown below. The normaliza-
tions were used to enforce rapid conver-
gence in the training procedure. The thicknesses of the anode support, electrolyte, and CFL
–2
(i) Current density, A cm , divided by 3.02 A cm ; –2 and the porosity of ASL are the four cell parameters varied in
(ii) ASL thickness, mm, divided by 2.45 mm; the experimental tests in Ref. [23]. The cell voltage–current
(iii) ASL porosity, %, divided by 100; density curves of the cells are used as the input data to the
(iv) Electrolyte thickness, lm, divided by 20 lm; ANN training procedure along with other cell characteristics,
(v) CFL thickness, lm, divided by 105 lm; which are displayed in Table 1 from Ref. [23].
(vi) Cell temperature, °C, divided by 1,000 °C.
Table 1 The characteristics of the SOFCs used for the training procedures
The output of the ANN model is the cell voltage. To obtain [23].
a suitable network architecture that can successfully predict
Parameters Unit Value
the SOFC behavior, several topologies are evaluated. As a ASL thickness mm 0.5a)–1.00b)–1.45–2.45
result, a 6-4-1 architecture with four neurons in the hidden Material: NiO/YSZc) wt ratio 70/30
layer is selected. The hyperbolic tangent sigmoid transfer Porosity % 32–48b)–57a)–76
function and linear transfer function are chosen for the hid- AFL thickness lm 20
den and output layers, respectively. A total of 632 experimen- Material: NiO/YSZc) wt ratio 70/30
Electrolyte thickness lm 4–8a),b)–15–20
tal points are randomly chosen, and 60% of these are used for
Material: YSZ
training, 20% for testing and 20% for validation. The mean
CFL thickness lm 6–20a),b)–56–105
square error (MSE) of the best validation is 0.0863 at epoch Material: LSM/YSZ wt ratio 50/50
32, and at this point the training is stopped. The regression CCCL thickness lm 50
values of the training, testing, and validation are 0.99772, Material: LSM/YSZ wt ratio 50/50
0.99656, and 0.9965, respectively. Temperature °C 600–700–800
The ANN modeling approach does have limitations. The Fuel volume rate: hydrogen mL min–1 300
Oxidant volume rate: oxygen mL min–1 550
applicability of predictions is restricted by the experimental
Cathode area cm2 2
input dataset for the applicability of the prediction, meaning
a)
Optimized cell.
that the model can only be used to predict the voltage of the b)
Standard cell.
cell from the six above mentioned variables. An ANN also c)
Before reduction.
requires sufficient input data for training. The benefits of this
approach include rapid calculation without using compli-
cated numerical methods, extending the model to a broader
2.2 Genetic Algorithm for SOFC Optimization
parameter range without extra experimental measurements,
and high accuracy. One of the most advantages of using A GA is applied along with ANN simulation of the SOFC
ANN is developing an objective function that can be utilized performance to optimize the cell parameters [27, 28]. A brief
for optimization purpose which reduces the cost of experi- pseudo-code description of the GA approach is shown in
mentations required for finding the optimum dataset. Figure 2 that is explained below:

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Table 2 RMSE and SEP of the ANN model.

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Prediction RMSE SEP (%)

ASL thickness 0.0188 2.9447
ASL porosity 0.0159 2.3947
Electrolyte thickness (800 °C) 0.0075 1.1733
Electrolyte thickness (700 °C) 0.0192 1.3017
CFL thickness 0.0166 2.6767
Optimized cella) 0.0108 1.5841
Standard cella) 0.0231 3.8070
Total 0.0108 1.7054
a)
Described in Table 1.

Step (3): apply fitness-proportionate selection and add the

Fig. 2 Flow chart of the GA procedure.
Step (1): randomly generate an initial population of poten-
tial solutions (chromosomes).
Step (2): evaluate the fitness of each individual. This step
involves determining the number of fitness values for each
potential solution, ranking these and assigning each individu-
al a fitness value inversely proportional to its rank.
selected individuals to the parent population. Re-rank the
new population.
Step (4): form a mating pool from the best (lowest-ranking)
individuals in the new population while applying similarity
restrictions (e.g., crowding distance).
Step (5): apply fitness-proportionate selection together
with other genetic operators (e.g., mutation) to the mating
pool and produce the next generation.
Step (6): check the stopping criteria; if not met, and repeat
the steps 1–5.
The maximum power density (MPD) objective function
shown in Eq. (1) is used with a GA optimizer with a popula-
tion size of 20, a crossover rate of 0.8, a mutation rate of 0.01,
and a maximum of 100 generations. Commercial MATLAB™
software is used for the GA computations. The objective func-
tion is multiplied by –1 to convert the maximizing problem to
a minimizing problem.

Fig. 3 Comparison of I–V curves for standard cell by ANN model and experimental data from [23].

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MPD ˆ Max:…IV†
(1†
where MPD is the maximum power density in W cm–2, I the
current density in A cm–2 and is the input data to the ANN
model, and V is the cell voltage in V calculated by the ANN
model.
The cell parameters in the optimization procedure and
their corresponding search ranges are:
(i) ASL thickness, [0.5–2.45] (mm).
(ii) ASL porosity, [32–76] (%).
(iii) Electrolyte thickness, [4–20] (lm).
(iv) Functional layer cathode (CFL) thickness, [6–105] (lm).
Some constraints such as restrictions on the ASL thickness,
porosity, and electrolyte thickness are applied to these ranges
to find the optimal cell parameters under feasible working
conditions.
3 Model Validation
The results of the ANN modeling are depicted as cell volt-
age versus current density plots (or I–V curves) and are com-
pared with experimental data in Figures 3–8. The cell param-
eters change in a one-variable-at-time (OVAT) approach in
the same way as the experimental results [23]. This approach
only allows one parameter of the standard cell to be varied in
one figure, while the other parameters of the cell are constant,
standard cell parameters. The errors between the experimen-
tal data and the predictions of the ANN are calculated using
Eqs. (2) and (3), which describe the root mean squared error
Fig. 4 Comparison of I–V curves for anode support thickness changes at 800 °C by ANN model and experimental data from [23].
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
(RMSE) and the standard error of prediction (SEP), respec-
tively:
s
Pn
iˆ1 …Vi;e Vi;p †2
RMSE ˆ (2†
n
RMSE
SEP ˆ  e × 100% (3†
V
where Vi,e is the experimental data from Ref. [23], Vi,p the cor-
responding data predicted by the ANN model, Ve the mean
value of the experimental data, and n is the number asso-
ciated with the experimental data. The resulting RMSE and
SEP values are reported in Table 2. It can be seen in Table 2
that the best prediction of the ANN model is the prediction of
the electrolyte thickness dependence (at 800 °C), which has
an RMSE of 0.0075 and an SEP of 1.17%. The worst prediction
is for the standard cell, which has an RMSE of 0.0231 and an
SEP of 3.8%. The RMSE and SEP of all data are 0.0108 and
1.705%, respectively.
The ANN model can simulate the cell voltage versus cur-
rent density curves of the standard cell, as shown in Figure 3.
The results of the ANN modeling agree well with the temper-
ature changes. An RMSE of 0.0231 and an SEP of 3.807% are
calculated for the prediction of the standard cell performance.
Therefore, the SOFC behavior shown in the predicted curves
is acceptable
Figure 4 shows the cell performances from the ANN mod-
eling and the experimental data at 800 °C as the anode sup-
port thickness changes from 0.5 to 2.45 mm with an RMSE of
0.0188 and an SEP of 2.9447%.
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Fig. 5 Comparison of I–V curves for anode support porosity changes at 800 °C by ANN model and experimental data from [23].

Fig. 6 Comparison of I–V curves for electrolyte thickness changes at 800 °C by ANN model and experimental data from [23].

Figure 5 presents the cell voltage versus current density
curves of the ANN predictions and the experimental data at
800 °C as the anode support porosity is varied from 32 to 76%
and the RMSE and SEP of the model are 0.0161 and 2.426%,
respectively.
In Figure 6, it can be seen that the cell voltage versus cur-
rent density curves with electrolyte thickness dependence
modeled by the ANN compares well with the experimental
data at 800 °C. The electrolyte thickness ranges from 4 to 20.
The ANN results describing the changes in performance
with electrolyte thickness are in good agreement with the

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Fig. 7 Comparison of I–V curves for functional layer cathode thickness changes at 800 °C by ANN model and experimental data from [23].

Fig. 8 Comparison of I–V curves for optimized cell by ANN modeling and experimental data from [23].

experimental data with an RMSE of 0.0075 and an SEP of
1.1733%.
Figure 7 shows I–V curves of the cells at 800 °C from the
ANN and experimental data as the functional layer cathode
thickness changes from 6 to 105. The RMSE is 0.0166, and the
SEP is 2.6767%.
In Figure 8, voltage–current density curves are plotted for
the optimal cell from the ANN model and compared with
experimental data at temperatures of 600, 700, and 800 °C.
The RMSE is 0.0108, and the SEP is 1.5841%.
The ANN can model the SOFC performance with accepta-
ble accuracy. The results clearly show the ability of the ANN

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 Bozorgmehri, Hamedi: Modeling and Optimization of Anode-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
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model as an efficient tool for predicting the effect of the cell
parameters on its performance.
4 Results and Discussion
In this section, the results of using the ANN model for spe-
cific ranges of SOFC parameters are discussed. Then, the opti-
mized outputs from the GA are compared with the other
published experimental and analytical results.
4.1 Parametric Study
The ANN model can simulate the cell voltage versus cur-
rent density curves for different values of the cell parameters
(i.e., anode support thickness, anode support porosity, elec-
trolyte thickness, and functional layer cathode thickness). Fig-
ures 9–12 show the effects of the changes of the cell parame-
ters on its performance. The cell parameters are studied in an
OVAT approach. The values of constant parameters are men-
tioned in the caption of each figure.
Figure 9 shows the cell performance at 800 °C as the anode
support thickness changes from 0.25 to 2.50 mm. The ANN
model predicted the performances of cells with anode thick-
nesses of 0.25, 0.75, 1.25, 1.75, and 2.50 mm. It can be seen that
higher ASL thickness reduces the cell performance.
Figure 10 presents the cell voltage versus current density
curves at 800 °C as the anode support porosity varies from 35
to 75%. The maximum performance is predicted at 65%.

Fig. 9 I–V curves for anode support thickness changes at 800 °C by ANN model prediction (ASL porosity = 48%; electrolyte thickness = 8 lm; CFL thick-
ness = 20 lm).

Fig. 10 I–V curves for anode support porosity changes at 800 °C by ANN model prediction (ASL thickness = 1.0 mm; electrolyte thickness = 8 lm; CFL
thickness = 20 lm).

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In Figure 11, it can be seen that the cell voltage versus cur-
rent density curves with electrolyte thickness dependence at
800 °C. The electrolyte thickness ranges from 5 to 18. The
model predicts the optimal performance about 10–13 lm
electrolyte thickness.
Figure 12 shows I–V curves of the cells at 800 °C as the
functional layer cathode thickness changes from 15 to 90 lm.
The model among these values shows MPD at 30 lm.
4.2 Optimization Results
The results of the GA optimization of cell parameters are
presented in Tables 3 and 4. Then, their performances are
plotted by ANN model in Figures 13–15. The ranges of the
optimal cell parameters are listed in Table 3 and compared
with the results of other research [20–23]. The highest MPD is
2.245 W cm–2 at 800 °C, shown in the I–V curve by ANN
model in Figure 13, with ASL thickness, porosity, electrolyte
thickness, and CFL thickness values of 0.5 mm, 76%, 4 lm,
and 13 lm, respectively. These cell parameters show that the
maximum performance is obtained at the maximum ASL po-
rosity and the minimum ASL and electrolyte thicknesses.
However, it may not be possible to make a cell with the above
specifications because of constraints on the fabrication pro-
cess and mechanical strength. The thickness and porosity of
the ASLs play major roles in the mechanical integrity anode-
supported cells, as shown in Refs. [29–31], and a higher elec-
trolyte thickness is used to prevent gas leakage. In general,

Fig. 11 I–V curves for electrolyte thickness changes at 800 °C by ANN model prediction (ASL porosity = 48%; ASL thickness = 1.0 mm; CFL thick-
ness = 20 lm).

Fig. 12 I–V curves for functional layer cathode thickness changes by ANN model prediction (ASL porosity = 48%; ASL thickness = 1.0 lm; electrolyte
thickness = 8 lm).

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Table 3 Optimized cell parameters by ANN and GA, and the other methods from [20–23], the optimized values are highlighted.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

Methods: ANN and GA Experimental [20] Modeling [21] Modeling [22] Experimental [23]
ASL thickness (mm) 0.5–1.5 1.500a) 1.000a) 1.000a) 0.5
ASL porosity (%) 50–76 n/a 50a) 48a) 57
AFL thickness (lm) 20a) 5–10a) 20a) 10–20 20a)
Electrolyte thickness 4–8 5–10a) 10a) 8a) 8
(lm)
CFL thickness (lm) 6–39 30 15 20–40 20
CCCL thickness (lm) 50a) 50–60 85 200–300 50a)
Performance 1.1–2.2 W cm–2 at 800 °C ~1.50 A cm–2 at 800 °C, ~0.70 W cm–2 at 700 °C Average current density: ~1.8 W cm–2 at 800 °C
700 mV 0.41 A cm–2 at 700 °C
a)
Constant values.
n/a: not available.

Table 4 Optimized cell parameters by ANN and GA under different constraints.

No. Constraints/bounds ASL thickness (mm) ASL porosity (%)
Performance (W c- Electrolyte thickness (lm) CFL thickness
m–2 at 800 °C) (lm)
Lower bounda) Upper bounda)
1 [0.5;32;4;6] [2.45;76;20;105] 0.5 76 4 13 2.245
2 [0.5;32;8;6] [2.45;57;20;105] 0.5 57 8 27 1.739
3 [0.5;32;4;6] [2.45;57;20;105] 0.5 57 4 34 1.786
4 [1.0;32;4;6] [2.45;76;20;105] 1.0 76 4 7 1.987
5 [1.0;32;8;6] [2.45;76;20;105] 1.0 76 8 6 1.914
6 [1.0;32;4;6] [2.45;57;20;105] 1.0 57 4 30 1.497
7 [1.0;32;8;6] [2.45;57;20;105] 1.0 57 8 22 1.452
8 [1.0;32;4;6] [2.45;50;20;105] 1.0 50 4 39 1.335
9 [1.0;32;8;6] [2.45;50;20;105] 1.0 50 8 36 1.272
10 [1.5;32;8;6] [2.45;50;20;105] 1.5 50 8 28 1.059
a)
ASL thickness (mm); ASL porosity (%); electrolyte thickness (lm); CFL thickness (lm).

Fig. 13 I–V curves predicted by the ANN model for optimized sets of parameters, [ASL thickness (mm); ASL porosity (%); electrolyte thickness (lm); CFL
thickness (lm)], obtained by the GA (see cell No. 1–3 in Table 4 for lower and upper bounds of GA search space).

the specifications of single cells shown in the literature thickness [20–23]. These constraints are applied to the GA
require at least 1 or 1.5 mm ASL thickness, less than 50 or optimization to obtain the results shown in Table 4 and the
57% ASL porosity, and more than 8 or 10 lm electrolyte simulated I–V curves by ANN model in Figures 14 and 15.

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Fig. 14 I–V curves predicted by the ANN model for optimized sets of parameters, [ASL thickness (mm); ASL porosity (%); electrolyte thickness (lm); CFL
thickness (lm)], obtained by the GA (see cell No. 4–7 in Table 4 for lower and upper bounds of GA search space).

Fig. 15 I–V curves predicted by the ANN model for optimized sets of parameters, [ASL thickness (mm); ASL porosity (%); electrolyte thickness (lm); CFL
thickness (lm)], obtained by the GA (see cell No. 8–10 in Table 4 for lower and upper bounds of GA search space).

The changes to the CFL thickness show that this parameter is
dependent on the values of the other parameters in Table 4,
while the other three parameters (ASL thickness, porosity,
and electrolyte thickness) tend to extremal points (minimum,
maximum, and minimum values, respectively). The results of
the GA optimization predict that the optimal CFL thickness is
close to that of the optimal cell from Zhao and Virkar’s work
[23] under the same conditions. Also, it can be seen in Table 4
that the optimal CFL thickness is in very good agreement
with those brought in Ref. [20] under similar conditions.

FUEL CELLS 12, 2012, No. 1, 11–23 www.fuelcells.wiley-vch.de © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 21
 Bozorgmehri, Hamedi: Modeling and Optimization of Anode-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

5 Conclusion Subscripts
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

A hybrid system of ANN and the GA were successfully e Experimental

applied to model and optimize the cell parameters of a single i Component
SOFC. The ANN model can predict the SOFC performance p Predicted by model
over a relatively wide range of cell parameters and is vali-
dated with published experimental data. The developed net-
work has a simple architecture with a small number of neu-
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