Non-isothermal modeling of planner Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

University of Birjand

Abstract

A solid oxide fuel cell with internal reforming and parallel flow is modeled. The solution domain of this model is divided into four parts: fuel channel, air channel, bipolar plates, and cell core (PEN) consisting of anode and cathode electrodes and electrolyte, and the equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, along with an electrochemical model, it has been solved in a one-dimensional and steady state by gPROMS software and validated using the data available in the articles. First, solving equations with variable properties (depending on temperature) and equations with constant properties were compared. The results show that the effect of temperature on the properties in the performance range of SOFC is insignificant, hence the results are obtained based on the constant properties, in this case, the program execution time is reduced by 16.7%. Secondly, to further reduce the program execution time, the different sentences of the governing equations were compared in order of magnitude, sentences with a lower order were removed from the equations, and finally, the results of the equations were simplified and the initial equations were compared. The effect of parameters such as fuel pre-reforming percentage, inlet temperature, and fuel consumption coefficient on fuel cell performance has been investigated. The results show that the fuel consumption coefficient has a direct relationship with the temperature gradient and an inverse relationship with the power and efficiency of the fuel cell, on the other hand, increasing the excess air causes a decrease in the working quantity of the cell.

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