A multiscale impact damage assessment framework for layered structures with application to solid oxide fuel cells

Impact-induced damage in layered structures remains a long-standing challenge in solid mechanics, primarily due to the complex propagation of stress waves across multiple heterogeneous interfaces. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks, as representative layered systems, are particularly vulnerable to core crushing when subjected to severe impact loading in extreme environments. Such damage can result in output voltage degradation and compromise the operational stability of SOFC-supported systems. To efficiently evaluate impact resistance and output voltage stability, this study proposes a multiscale numerical framework for assessing the ultimate load-bearing capacity of SOFC stacks under impact loads. The clamped stack is first homogenized into an equivalent continuum, which significantly enhances computational efficiency. Subsequently, a constitutive model capturing elastic–plastic behavior and dynamic structural failure is developed to predict damage evolution under impact conditions. Validation against the original full-scale detailed model demonstrates that the proposed framework achieves high accuracy while substantially reducing computational cost. This efficiency arises from the layer-number independence of the approach: constitutive parameters calibrated using a reduced-layer stack can be directly applied to full-scale stacks without further modification. Overall, the proposed framework provides an effective analytical tool for evaluating the ultimate load-bearing capacity and functional reliability of SOFC stacks subjected to impact loading.