The thermal effect in direct carbon solid oxide fuel cells

• Published in: Applied thermal engineering 2017-05, Vol.118, p.652-662
• Main Authors: Xu, Haoran, Chen, Bin, Zhang, Houcheng, Kong, Wei, Liang, Bo, Ni, Meng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon; Computer simulation; Direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC); Fuel cells; Heat generation; Mathematical modeling; Mathematical models; Numerical analysis; Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC); Solid oxide fuel cells; Studies; Temperature; Temperature distribution; Thermal energy; Thermal management
• ISSN: 1359-4311; 1873-5606
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.03.027

•A model for the thermal effect in DC-SOFC is developed.•Operating parameters greatly influences the DC-SOFC thermal behaviors.•The temperature field in DC-SOFC is highly non-uniform.•A breakdown of heat generation/consumption in DC-SOFC is given. In this paper, the thermal effect in a tubular direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell (DC-SOFC) is studied with a numerical model. After model validation, parametric simulations are carried out to study the effects of operating and structural parameters on the thermal behaviors of DC-SOFCs. It is found that the thermal behaviors of DC-SOFC greatly depends on operating parameters and the temperature field in DC-SOFC is highly non-uniform. The position of peak temperature in the cell is highly dependent on the operating potential. In addition, a smaller distance between the carbon bed and the anode is beneficial for improving the temperature uniformity in the DC-SOFC. The breakdown of heat generation/consumption in DC-SOFC shows that the anode processes contribute the most to the temperature variation in the cell. The results of this study form a solid foundation for better thermal management of DC-SOFC.