When using solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) as the auxiliary power unit (APU) of automobiles, a stringent thermal control to limit the temperature and thermal stress of all components of the SOFC system is required. Various thermal management methods have been proposed, mostly involving the use of cooling air (CA). To avoid the thermal shock associated with directly adding CA into the SOFC stack air inlet stream, directing CA into the burner is a desirable alternative. Using CA bypass into the burner is a simple and effective way to control the excessive burner temperature, which in turn limits the temperatures of other system components.In this study, a 5 kW SOFC system fueled by diesel and with CA into the burner is examined. The system consists of an SOFC stack and a balance of plant (BOP) that includes a steam generator, an air heat exchanger, a fuel heat exchanger, a pre-reformer and a burner, a water pump and an air blower. The burner burns the unused fuel and provides heat to the pre-reformer and heat exchangers. A thermocouple is installed near the outlet of the burner, which is connected to a CA pipe. When the burner temperature exceeds its set maximum temperature, TBM, the CA valve opens to allow fresh air to enter directly to the burner through the bypass pipe to maintain the burner temperature at the set value. A comprehensive theoretical model, including detailed sub-models for all system components, is developed and verified with multiple experimental data.The theoretical model is used in a comprehensive control-parameter classification analysis, revealing the impacts of the fuel utilization, Uf, air flow rate, Vair, and TBM = (900 ℃, 1000 ℃) on the system performance. In particular, the effects of (Uf, Vair, TBM) on the system electrical efficiency, Esys, and the characteristic temperatures of the stack and BOP components are determined quantitatively. The main findings are: 1) It is confirmed that the CA bypass into the burner can limit the operating temperatures of all system components. 2) Changing TBM from 900℃ to 1000℃ can notably increase Esys only for low Uf, but may increase the maximum stack temperature, TM. It appears that TBM = 900℃ is more favorable than TBM = 1000℃. 3) Increasing Uf increases Esys, but may also increase TM and the maximum stack temperature difference, Tdiff. 4) TM and Tdiff as well as Esys decrease with the increase of Vair. Overall, the constrains of (TM ≤ 900℃, Tdiff ≤ 200℃) can be satisfied together with Esys > 55%, if Vair is chosen properly.It is concluded that the examined system design is suitable as an APU. Moreover, the system model presented here can be used for the design and operation optimization of similar systems, taking factors such as the stack size and performance, the thermal constrains the stack can withstand into considerations.
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