In the field of SOFCs, a major objective is the reduction of the cell operating temperaturebelow 700°C, in order to ensure greater durability of electrochemical systems and cellmaterials. In addition, the fabrication process of a complete cell currently includes two orthree stages of sintering. Thus one sintering process could lead to a consequent decrease in theproduction cost of the cell. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to these two issues byproposing a method for manufacturing a SOFC fuel cell in a single operation called cofiringand with a selection of high electrochemical performance materials.This thesis is addressed in three main areas: mechanical, microstructural and electrochemical.After sintering behavior characterization of the selected materials, a sintering cycle leading toan acceptable electrolyte microstructure (closed porosity) was selected. The cofiring was thenapproached by a mechanical aspect. The curvature Phenomena caused by of cofiring wereexplained using an analytical model and compared with in situ observations. The work is thencontinued with a microstructural approach. The optimization of the cathode microstructurewas done using a numerical modeling based on the discrete element method. Cell componentswere finally characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to optimize theirperformances. Finally, a free crack complete cell was obtained by co-sintering process and herelectrochemical performance was estimated.
