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Effects of Radial and Circumferential Flows on Power Density Improvements of Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Author

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  • Abdellah Essaghouri

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Zezhi Zeng

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Bingguo Zhao

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Changkun Hao

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Yuping Qian

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Weilin Zhuge

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Yangjun Zhang

    (State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

Abstract

Improving the power density of SOFC stacks will accelerate their integration into mobile applications. We developed a 3D Multiphysics model validated by experimental results from early studies to examine the effect of radial and circumferential flows on the power density improvements in a micro-tubular SOFC. The inserts were placed inside the fuel channel to generate flow in different directions. The effects of geometric parameters of these inserts on flow and mass transfer in the fuel channel and porous anode were analyzed. We demonstrate that the radial flow enables the fuel to penetrate directly into the porous anode, increasing the local fuel concentration and enhancing the fuel diffusion to the anode triple-phase boundaries. We found that the circumferential flow has a negligible effect on the diffusion process in the anode and on the increase in power density. The impact of local convective and diffusive mass transfer mechanisms on power density improvement is analyzed using the local Péclet number along the axial direction. Enlarging the radial velocity component perpendicular to the porous anode could effectively increase the power density of the micro-tubular SOFC by 37%. This study helps improve our understanding of mass transfer in fuel channels and helps build a foundation for SOFC channel designs and optimizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdellah Essaghouri & Zezhi Zeng & Bingguo Zhao & Changkun Hao & Yuping Qian & Weilin Zhuge & Yangjun Zhang, 2022. "Effects of Radial and Circumferential Flows on Power Density Improvements of Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:19:p:7048-:d:924899
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Abdellah Essaghouri & Zezhi Zeng & Bingguo Zhao & Changkun Hao & Yuping Qian & Weilin Zhuge & Yangjun Zhang, 2022. "Influence of Radial Flows on Power Density and Gas Stream Pressure Drop of Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.

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