An open-source library for the numerical modeling of mass-transfer in solid oxide fuel cells

• Published in: Computer physics communications 2012, Vol.183 (1), p.125-146
• Main Authors: Novaresio, Valerio, García-Camprubí, María, Izquierdo, Salvador, Asinari, Pietro, Fueyo, Norberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Computer programs; Computer simulation; Freeware; Libraries; Mass-transfer; Mathematical models; Multicomponent; OpenFoam; Porous media; Solid oxide fuel cell; Solid oxide fuel cells; Source code; Transport
• ISSN: 0010-4655; 1879-2944
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cpc.2011.08.003

The generation of direct current electricity using solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) involves several interplaying transport phenomena. Their simulation is crucial for the design and optimization of reliable and competitive equipment, and for the eventual market deployment of this technology. An open-source library for the computational modeling of mass-transport phenomena in SOFCs is presented in this article. It includes several multicomponent mass-transport models ( i.e. Fickian, Stefan–Maxwell and Dusty Gas Model), which can be applied both within porous media and in porosity-free domains, and several diffusivity models for gases. The library has been developed for its use with OpenFOAM ®, a widespread open-source code for fluid and continuum mechanics. The library can be used to model any fluid flow configuration involving multicomponent transport phenomena and it is validated in this paper against the analytical solution of one-dimensional test cases. In addition, it is applied for the simulation of a real SOFC and further validated using experimental data. Program title: multiSpeciesTransportModels Catalogue identifier: AEKB_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEKB_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queenʼs University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 18 140 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 64 285 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language:: C++ Computer: Any x86 (the instructions reported in the paper consider only the 64 bit case for the sake of simplicity) Operating system: Generic Linux (the instructions reported in the paper consider only the open-source Ubuntu distribution for the sake of simplicity) Classification: 12 External routines: OpenFOAM® (version 1.6-ext) ( http://www.extend-project.de) Nature of problem: This software provides a library of models for the simulation of the steady state mass and momentum transport in a multi-species gas mixture, possibly in a porous medium. The software is particularly designed to be used as the mass-transport library for the modeling of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). When supplemented with other sub-models, such as thermal and charge-transport ones, it allows the prediction of the cell polarization curve and hence the cell performance. Solution method: Standard finite volume method (FVM) is used for solving all the conservat