Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes
The present study established the two-dimensional axisymmetric model for a freestanding circular cell of the low-temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (µ-SOFC) that is composed of platinum (Pt) electrodes and a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte. The only membrane electrode ass...
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MDPI AG
2018-05-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/5/1204 |
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| 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 | The present study established the two-dimensional axisymmetric model for a freestanding circular cell of the low-temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (µ-SOFC) that is composed of platinum (Pt) electrodes and a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte. The only membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was constructed for the numerical simulation in order to avoid the meshing problem with a very high aspect ratio of the submicron layers. We considered the charge and species conservation equations and electrode kinetics to elucidate the intricate phenomena inside the µ-SOFC. The extensive numerical simulations were carried out by using the commercial code to predict the effect of operating temperature and electrolyte thickness on the electrochemical performance of µ-SOFC. Our numerical model was calibrated with the results from experiments, and we provided the average cell current density and overpotentials with respect to the electrolyte thickness and the operating temperature. It was found that the electrochemical performance increased with the increase in operating temperature, owing to both rapid electrochemical reactions and ionic conduction, even in µ-SOFC. Moreover, the major voltage loss of µ-SOFC at low-temperature was caused by the cathodic activation overpotential. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:05:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9460b418fe074a3ab55b55c385f08fa4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:05:38Z |
| publishDate | 2018-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-9460b418fe074a3ab55b55c385f08fa42022-12-22T02:52:59ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732018-05-01115120410.3390/en11051204en11051204Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum ElectrodesJee Min Park0Dae Yun Kim1Jong Dae Baek2Yong-Jin Yoon3Pei-Chen Su4Seong Hyuk Lee5School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, KoreaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, 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, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 06974, KoreaThe present study established the two-dimensional axisymmetric model for a freestanding circular cell of the low-temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (µ-SOFC) that is composed of platinum (Pt) electrodes and a yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte. The only membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was constructed for the numerical simulation in order to avoid the meshing problem with a very high aspect ratio of the submicron layers. We considered the charge and species conservation equations and electrode kinetics to elucidate the intricate phenomena inside the µ-SOFC. The extensive numerical simulations were carried out by using the commercial code to predict the effect of operating temperature and electrolyte thickness on the electrochemical performance of µ-SOFC. Our numerical model was calibrated with the results from experiments, and we provided the average cell current density and overpotentials with respect to the electrolyte thickness and the operating temperature. It was found that the electrochemical performance increased with the increase in operating temperature, owing to both rapid electrochemical reactions and ionic conduction, even in µ-SOFC. Moreover, the major voltage loss of µ-SOFC at low-temperature was caused by the cathodic activation overpotential.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/5/1204computational fluid dynamics (CFD)low-temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (LT µ-SOFC)submicron layeroperating temperatureelectrolyte thickness |
| spellingShingle | Jee Min Park Dae Yun Kim Jong Dae Baek Yong-Jin Yoon Pei-Chen Su Seong Hyuk Lee Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes Energies computational fluid dynamics (CFD) low-temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (LT µ-SOFC) submicron layer operating temperature electrolyte thickness |
| title | Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes |
| title_full | Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes |
| title_fullStr | Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes |
| title_short | Numerical Study on Electrochemical Performance of Low-Temperature Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Submicron Platinum Electrodes |
| title_sort | numerical study on electrochemical performance of low temperature micro solid oxide fuel cells with submicron platinum electrodes |
| topic | computational fluid dynamics (CFD) low-temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (LT µ-SOFC) submicron layer operating temperature electrolyte thickness |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/5/1204 |
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