Local Non‐Equilibrium Thermal Effects in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Various Fuels

Abstract

AbstractLocal thermal equilibrium (LTE) is a common assumption used in thermal modeling of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). However, its validity has not been fully verified. To examine the validity of the LTE assumption, a thermal model has been developed to evaluate the local thermal non‐equilibrium effect of SOFC electrodes with various fuels, considering methane internal reforming and ammonia thermal cracking in the anode. Although the local thermal non‐equilibrium effect for ammonia‐fed SOFCs was more pronounced than that for hydrogen‐fed SOFCs, the local thermal equilibrium assumption can be safely adopted for SOFC modeling for a wide range of operating/structural parameters and for various fuels, such as hydrogen, ammonia, and methane.