Performance Measurements of a Single-cell Stack Using Various Designs of Flow Distributors for Planar SOFC

Abstract

In 2008, Shy and his co-workers proposed that flow uniformity may play a role on the cell performance of a single SOFC stack based on 3D numerical models, in which four different designs of flow distributors with the same 12 rectangular flow channels divided by eleven ribs having different degrees of flow uniformity were studied. This work provides direct experimental measurements for the first time to show how exactly the cell performance of a single-cell stack would vary with a change in the degree of flow uniformity in these aforementioned flow distributors. It is found that by improving the degree of flow uniformity in flow distributors, the cell's peak power density of the single-cell stack can be increased up to 14%. Also discussed are the start-up procedure and effects of operating temperatures and air and hydrogen flow rates to cell performance.