Investigation of Economical Design Strategies for the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Afterburner Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

This study simulates the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to explore the design optimization strategies of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) afterburner. The CFD modeling with combustion is carried out with the eddy dissipation concept (EDC), applying a three-step rate-dependent reaction mechanism to predict the determining step of the combustion reactions by changes of the control and design parameters. The implemented CFD model is validated by comparison of the precedent experimental data and CFD studies. The simulation results examine the temperature distribution and reactivity of the fuel inside the SOFC afterburner with design parameters at start-up operation, such as the equivalence ratio and swirl number. In particular, the results of the parametric study show the possibility of design optimization to minimize the wall temperature and constraints to reduce the emission of toxicants (i.e., CO and NOx). The alternative burner design derived from the parametric study, when starting the SOFC system, has been proven to keep on the stable thermal stress and fuel reactivity, despite lowering the maximum wall temperature to 80.9%, compared to the conventional burner design.