On flow uniformity in various interconnects and its influence to cell performance of planar SOFC

This paper investigates flow uniformity in various interconnects and its influence to cell performance of a planar SOFC. A transparent hydraulic platform was used to measure flow uniformity in different rib-channel modules of interconnects. Several 3D numerical models implemented by CFD-RC packages...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of power sources 2008-08, Vol.183 (1), p.205-213
Main Authors: Huang, C.M., Shy, S.S., Lee, C.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Computational fluid dynamics
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc
Exact sciences and technology
Flow uniformity
Fluid flow
Fuel cells
Fuel utilization rate
Hydraulics
Mathematical models
Modules
Peak power density
Planar SOFC
Solid oxide fuel cells
Stacks
Temperature gradient
Variability
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Summary:This paper investigates flow uniformity in various interconnects and its influence to cell performance of a planar SOFC. A transparent hydraulic platform was used to measure flow uniformity in different rib-channel modules of interconnects. Several 3D numerical models implemented by CFD-RC packages were established to first simulate these hydraulic experiments and then used to evaluate the cell performance of a single-cell stack using different designs of interconnects with different flow uniformity over a wide range of a hydraulic Reynolds number ( Re) based on a hydraulic diameter of rib-channels. Numerical flow data are found in good agreement with experimental results. It is proposed that a new design, using simple small guide vanes equally spaced around the feed header of the double-inlet/single-outlet module, can effectively improve the degree of flow uniformity in interconnects resulting in 11% increase of the peak power density (PPD) which can be further increased when applying a Ni-mesh on anode. Numerical analyses demonstrate a strong influence of Re on cell performance, of which appropriate ranges of Re in both anode and cathode sides are identified for achieving a reasonably good PPD while remaining an economic fuel utilization rate and having less temperature variations in the single-cell stack.
ISSN:0378-7753
1873-2755
DOI:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2008.04.059