Non-Isothermal Modeling of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birjand, Birjand Iran

Abstract

A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) with internal reformation and a parallel flow configuration is modeled. The solution domain of the model is divided into four sections: the fuel channel, air channel, bipolar plates, and the cell core (PEN), which comprises the anode and cathode electrodes as well as the electrolyte. The conservation equations for mass, momentum, and energy, along with an electrochemical model, are solved in a one-dimensional steady-state framework using gPROMS software. The model's results have been validated against data available in published literature. First, the equations were solved using both variable properties (temperature-dependent) and constant properties, and the results were compared. The results show that the impact of temperature on properties within the performance range of the SOFC is negligible. Therefore, the results were obtained using constant properties, which reduced the program execution time by 16.7%. Secondly, to further reduce the program execution time, the various terms in the governing equations were analyzed based on their order of magnitude. Terms with lower significance were eliminated from the equations. The results of the simplified equations were then compared to those obtained from the original equations, ensuring consistency and accuracy. The effects of parameters such as the fuel pre-reforming percentage, inlet temperature, and fuel utilization factor on fuel cell performance have been investigated. The results show that the fuel utilization factor has a direct relationship with the temperature gradient and an inverse relationship with the power output and efficiency of the fuel cell. Additionally, increasing the excess air leads to a reduction in the operational performance of the cell.

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References

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Hydrogen, Fuel Cell & Energy Storage
Volume 12, Issue 2
March 2025
Pages 135-148

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