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Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell

Author

Listed:
  • Jee Min Park

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Korea)

  • Dae Yun Kim

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Korea)

  • Jong Dae Baek

    (School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore)

  • Yong-Jin Yoon

    (School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore)

  • Pei-Chen Su

    (School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore)

  • Seong Hyuk Lee

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Korea)

Abstract

We investigated the effect of electrolyte thickness and operating temperature on the heat and mass transfer characteristics of solid oxide fuel cells. We conducted extensive numerical simulations to analyze single cell performance of a planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with electrolyte thicknesses from 80 to 100 ?m and operating temperatures between 700 °C and 800 °C. The commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code was utilized to simulate the transport behavior and electrochemical reactions. As expected, the maximum power density increased with decreasing electrolyte thickness, and the difference became significant when the current density increased among different electrolyte thicknesses at a fixed temperature. Thinner electrolytes are beneficial for volumetric power density due to lower ohmic loss. Moreover, the SOFC performance enhanced with increasing operating temperature, which substantially changed the reaction rate along the channel direction. This study can be used to help design SOFC stacks to achieve enhanced heat and mass transfer during operation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jee Min Park & Dae Yun Kim & Jong Dae Baek & Yong-Jin Yoon & Pei-Chen Su & Seong Hyuk Lee, 2018. "Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:3:p:473-:d:133130
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Khazaee, I. & Rava, A., 2017. "Numerical simulation of the performance of solid oxide fuel cell with different flow channel geometries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 235-244.
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    4. Juanjo Ugartemendia & J. Xabier Ostolaza & Itziar Zubia, 2013. "Operating Point Optimization of a Hydrogen Fueled Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Steam Turbine (SOFC-ST) Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-23, September.
    5. Lee, Sanghyeok & Park, Mansoo & Kim, Hyoungchul & Yoon, Kyung Joong & Son, Ji-Won & Lee, Jong-Ho & Kim, Byung-Kook & Choi, Wonjoon & Hong, Jongsup, 2017. "Thermal conditions and heat transfer characteristics of high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells investigated by three-dimensional numerical simulations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 293-305.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yongqing Wang & Bo An & Ke Wang & Yan Cao & Fan Gao, 2020. "Identification of Restricting Parameters on Steps toward the Intermediate-Temperature Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Tomasz A. Prokop & Grzegorz Brus & Shinji Kimijima & Janusz S. Szmyd, 2020. "Thin Solid Film Electrolyte and Its Impact on Electrode Polarization in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Studied by Three-Dimensional Microstructure-Scale Numerical Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Guk, Erdogan & Venkatesan, Vijay & Babar, Shumaila & Jackson, Lisa & Kim, Jung-Sik, 2019. "Parameters and their impacts on the temperature distribution and thermal gradient of solid oxide fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 164-173.
    4. Jee Min Park & Dae Yun Kim & Jong Dae Baek & Yong-Jin Yoon & Pei-Chen Su & Seong Hyuk Lee, 2018. "Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-12, May.
    5. Yongqing Wang & Xingchen Li & Zhenning Guo & Ke Wang & Yan Cao, 2021. "Effect of the Reactant Transportation on Performance of a Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-14, February.
    6. Yuhang Liu & Jinyi Liu & Lirong Fu & Qiao Wang, 2024. "Numerical Study on Effects of Flow Channel Length on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Integrated System Performances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-22, February.

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