Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell
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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-02-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/3/473 |
| _version_ | 1828392059906555904 |
|---|---|
| author | Jee Min Park Dae Yun Kim Jong Dae Baek Yong-Jin Yoon Pei-Chen Su Seong Hyuk Lee |
| author_facet | Jee Min Park Dae Yun Kim Jong Dae Baek Yong-Jin Yoon Pei-Chen Su Seong Hyuk Lee |
| author_sort | Jee Min Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 μm 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:13:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-763dad91ddd94299823bd800f17ba57f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:13:15Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-763dad91ddd94299823bd800f17ba57f2022-12-22T01:58:00ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732018-02-0111347310.3390/en11030473en11030473Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit CellJee Min Park0Dae Yun Kim1Jong Dae Baek2Yong-Jin Yoon3Pei-Chen Su4Seong Hyuk Lee5School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, KoreaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, KoreaSchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, SingaporeSchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, SingaporeSchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, SingaporeSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, KoreaWe 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 μm 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.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/3/473solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)computational fluid dynamics (CFD)heat and mass transferelectrolyte thicknessoperating temperature |
| spellingShingle | Jee Min Park Dae Yun Kim Jong Dae Baek Yong-Jin Yoon Pei-Chen Su Seong Hyuk Lee Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell Energies solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) heat and mass transfer electrolyte thickness operating temperature |
| title | Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell |
| title_full | Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell |
| title_short | Effect of Electrolyte Thickness on Electrochemical Reactions and Thermo-Fluidic Characteristics inside a SOFC Unit Cell |
| title_sort | effect of electrolyte thickness on electrochemical reactions and thermo fluidic characteristics inside a sofc unit cell |
| topic | solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) heat and mass transfer electrolyte thickness operating temperature |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/3/473 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeeminpark effectofelectrolytethicknessonelectrochemicalreactionsandthermofluidiccharacteristicsinsideasofcunitcell AT daeyunkim effectofelectrolytethicknessonelectrochemicalreactionsandthermofluidiccharacteristicsinsideasofcunitcell AT jongdaebaek effectofelectrolytethicknessonelectrochemicalreactionsandthermofluidiccharacteristicsinsideasofcunitcell AT yongjinyoon effectofelectrolytethicknessonelectrochemicalreactionsandthermofluidiccharacteristicsinsideasofcunitcell AT peichensu effectofelectrolytethicknessonelectrochemicalreactionsandthermofluidiccharacteristicsinsideasofcunitcell AT seonghyuklee effectofelectrolytethicknessonelectrochemicalreactionsandthermofluidiccharacteristicsinsideasofcunitcell |