A numerical model is presented in this work that computes the interdependent fields of flow, temperature, and mass fractions in a single tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Fuel gas from a pre-reformer is considered to contain CO, (vapor), and so reforming and shift reactions in the cell are incorporated. The model uses mixture gas properties of the fuel and oxidant that are functions of the numerically obtained local temperature, pressure, and species concentrations, which are both interdependent and related to the chemical and electrochemical reactions. A discretized network circuit of a tubular SOFC was adopted to account for the Ohmic losses and Joule heating from the current passing around the circumference of the cell to the interconnect. In the iterative computation, local electrochemical parameters were simultaneously calculated based on the local parameters of pressure, temperature, and concentration of the species. Upon convergence of the computation, both local details and the overall performance of the fuel cell are obtained. These numerical results are important in order to better understand the operation of SOFCs.
1.
Gardner
, F. J.
, 1997
, “Thermodynamic Processes in Solid Oxide and Other Fuel Cells
,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng.
, 211
(Part A), pp. 367
–380
.2.
Bevc
, F.
, 1997
, “Advances in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Integrated Power Plant
,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng.
, 211
(Part A), pp. 359
–366
.3.
Singhal
, S. C.
, 1999
, “Process in Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology,” S. C. Singhal, and M. Dokiya, eds.
, Electrochemical Society Proceedings
, 99-19
, pp. 39
–51
.4.
Srinivasan
, S.
, Mosdale
, R.
, Stevens
, P.
, and Yang
, C.
, 1999
, “Fuel Cells: Reaching the Era of Clean and Efficient Power Generation in the Twenty-First Century
,” Annual Review of Energy and the Environment
, 24
, pp. 281
–328
.5.
Joon
, K.
, 1998
, “Fuel Cells—a 21st Century Power System
,” J. Power Sources
, 71
, pp. 12
–18
.6.
Hirano
, A.
, Suzuki
, M.
, and Ippommatsu
, M.
, 1992
, “Evaluation of a New Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System by Non-Isothermal Modeling
,” J. Electrochem. Soc.
, 139
(10
), pp. 2744
–2751
.7.
Bessette
, N. F.
, and Wepfer
, W. J.
, 1995
, “A Mathematical Model of a Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
,” ASME J. Energy Resour. Technol.
, 117
, pp. 43
–49
.8.
Haynes
, C.
, and Wepfer
, W. J.
, 2001
, “Characterizing Heat Transfer Within a Commercial-Grade Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Enhanced Thermal Management
,” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy
, 26
, pp. 369
–379
.9.
Campanari
, S.
, 2001
, “Thermodynamic Model and Parametric Analysis of a Tubular SOFC Module
,” J. Power Sources
, 92
, pp. 26
–34
.10.
Palsson
, J.
, Selimovic
, A.
, and Sjunnesson
, L.
, 2000
, “Combined Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Gas Turbine Systems for Efficient Power and Heat Generation
,” J. Power Sources
, 86
, pp. 442
–448
.11.
Costamagna
, P.
, Arato
, E.
, Antonucci
, P. L.
, and Antonucci
, V.
, 1996
, “Partial Oxidation of CH4 in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Simulation Model of the Electrochemical Reactor and Experimental Validation
,” Chem. Eng. Sci.
, 51
(11
), pp. 3013
–3018
.12.
Aguiar
, P.
, Chadwick
, D.
, and Kershenbaum
, L.
, 2002
, “Modeling of an Indirect Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
,” Chem. Eng. Sci.
, 57
, pp. 1665
–1677
.13.
Sverdrup, E. F., Warde, C. J., and Glasser, A. D., 1972, From Electrocatalysis to Fuel Cells, G. Sandstede, ed., University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA, p. 255.
14.
Archer, D. H., Elikan, L., and Zahradnik, R. L., 1965, Hydrocarbon Fuel Cell Technology, B. S. Baker, ed., Academic Press, New York, NY, p. 51.
15.
Li
, P. W.
, and Suzuki
, K.
, 2004
, “Numerical Modeling and Performance Study of a Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
,” J. Electrochem. Soc.
, 151
(4
), pp. A548–A557
A548–A557
.16.
Nagata
, S.
, Momma
, A.
, Kato
, T.
, and Kasuga
, Y.
, 2001
, “Numerical Analysis of Output Characteristics of Tubular SOFC With Internal Reformer
,” J. Power Sources
, 101
, pp. 60
–71
.17.
Onuma
, S.
, Kaimai
, A.
, Kawamura
, K.
, Nigara
, Y.
, Kawada
, T.
, Mizusaki
, J.
, and Tagawa
, H.
, 2000
, “Influence of Coexisting Gases on the Electrochemical Reaction Rates Between 873 and 1173 K in a CH4-H2O/Pt/YSZ System
,” Solid State Ionics
, 132
, pp. 309
–331
.18.
Massardo, A. F., and Lubelli, F., 1998, “Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Gas Turbine Combined Cycles (IRSOFC-T) Part A: Cell Model and Cycle Thermodynamic Analysis,” ASME Paper 98-GT-577, presented at the International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exhibition, Stockholm, Sweden.
19.
Achenbach
, E.
, and Riensche
, E.
, 1994
, “Methane/Steam Reforming Kinetics for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
,” J. Power Sources
, 52
, pp. 283
–288
.20.
Peters
, R.
, Dahl
, R.
, Kluttgen
, U.
, Palm
, C.
, and Stolten
, D.
, 2002
, “Internal Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems
,” J. Power Sources
106
, pp. 238
–244
.21.
Freni
, S.
, and Maggio
, G.
, 1997
, “Energy Balance of Different Internal Reforming MCFC Configurations
,” Int. J. Energy Res.
, 21
, pp. 253
–264
.22.
Bird, R. B., Stewart, W. E., and Lightfoot, E. N., 1960, Transport Phenomena, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
23.
Williams, F. A., 1985, Combustion Theory, Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co., Redwood City, CA.
24.
Shabbir
, A.
, Charles
, M. P.
, and Romesh
, K.
, 1991
, “Thermal-Hydraulic Model of a Monolithic Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
,” J. Electrochem. Soc.
, 138
(9
), pp. 2712
–2718
.25.
Bessette
, N. F.
, Wepfer
, W. J.
, and Winnick
, J.
, 1995
, “A Mathematical Model of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
,” J. Electrochem. Soc.
, 142
, pp. 792
–800
.26.
Incropera, F. P., and DeWitt, D. P., 1996, Introduction to Heat Transfer, 3rd ed., Wiley, John & Sons, Inc., New York.
27.
Perry, R. H., Green, D. W., and Maloney, J. O., 1984, Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook, 6th ed., McGraw Hill Book Co., New York.
28.
Sverdrup
, E. F.
, Warde
, C. J.
, and Eback
, R. L.
, 1973
, “Design of High Temperature Solid-Electrolyte Fuel-Cell Batteries for Maximum Power Output per Unit Volume
,” Energy Convers.
, 13
, pp. 129
–136
.29.
Chan
, S. H.
, Khor
, K. A.
, and Xia
, Z. T.
, 2001
, “A Complete Polarization Model of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Its Sensitivity to the Change of Cell Component Thickness
,” J. Opt. (Paris)
, 93
, pp. 130
–140
.30.
Turns, S. R., 1999, Introduction to Combustion: Concepts and Application, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, New York.
31.
Eckert, E. R. G., and Drake, R. M., 1959, Heat and Mass Transfer, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
32.
Patankar, S. V., 1980, Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, McGraw-Hill, New York.
33.
Karki
, K. C.
, and Patankar
, S. H.
, 1989
, “Pressure Based Calculation Procedure for Viscous Flows at All Speeds in Arbitrary Configurations
,” AIAA J.
, 27
(9
), pp. 1167
–1174
.34.
Beckermann
, C.
, and Smith
, T. F.
, 1993
, “Incorporation of Internal Surface Radiant Exchange in the Finite-Volume Method
,” Numer. Heat Transfer, Part B
, 23
, pp. 127
–133
.35.
Veyo, S. E., and Lundberg, W. L., 1999, “Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power System Cycles,” ASME Paper No. 99-GT-356.
36.
Campanari, S., and Macchi, E., 1999, “The Combination of SOFC and Micro-Turbine for Civil and Industrial Cogeneration,” ASME Paper No. 99-GT-84.
37.
Tomlins, G. W., and Jaszar, M. P., 1999, “Elevated Pressure Testing of the Siemens Westinghouse Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell,” Proceedings of The 3rd International Fuel Cell Conference, pp. 369–372.
38.
Li
, P. W.
, and Chyu
, M. K.
, 2003
, “Simulation of the Chemical/Electrochemical Reactions and Heat/Mass Transfer for a Tubular SOFC in a Stack
,” J. Power Sources
, 124
, pp. 487
–498
.39.
Suzuki, K., Teshima, K., and Kim, J. H., 2000, “Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Micro Gas Turbine Hybrid Cycle for a Distributed Energy Generation System,” Proceedings of the 4th JSME-KSME Thermal Engineering Conference, October 1–6, Kobe, Japan.
40.
Hagiwara, A., Michibata, H., Kimura, A., Jaszcar, M. P., Tomlins, G. W., and Veyo, S. E., 1999, “Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Life Tests,” Proceedings of The 3rd International Fuel Cell Conference, Nagoya, Japan, pp. 365–368.
Copyright © 2004
by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.
