Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling of button solid oxide fuel cell

Abstract

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an energy converter device that directly converts the fuel's chemical energy into thermal and electrical energies. However, the performance of a SOFC is sensitive to the operating conditions, which indicates the need to control the operating parameters such as the operating temperature and inlet gas physical and chemical properties. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a button SOFC has been developed based on fluid flow, mass and heat transfer, and current and potential transport to study the performance of the button SOFC at different operating temperatures and flow rates. The results of all the investigated operating conditions have been validated with an in-house button SOFC. The results showed that the current density of the button SOFC increased significantly, to about 108.5% at average cell voltage 0.6 V and at oxygen flow rate of 1.8 L min−1 and hydrogen flow rate of 0.6 L min−1, when the operating temperature increased from 973 to 1023 K. However, less sensitivity has been found at the same average voltage of 0.6 V and an operating temperature of 973 K, the increase in the current density was about 9.7% when the flow rate of the oxygen increased from 0.4 to 0.6 L min−1, and the hydrogen flow rate increased from 1.2 to 1.8 L min−1, respectively; this was in good agreement with the experimental results.