Multiphysics Coupling Simulation and Parameter Study of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Zheng Dang; Xin Shen; Jinyan Ma; Zhaoyi Jiang; Guang Xi

doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.609338

Multiphysics Coupling Simulation and Parameter Study of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Front Chem. 2021 Jan 22:8:609338. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2020.609338. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Zheng Dang¹, Xin Shen^{1

2}, Jinyan Ma^{1

2}, Zhaoyi Jiang^{1

2}, Guang Xi¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Fluid Machinery and Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
² Department of Civil Engineering, School of Human Settlement and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Abstract

In this paper, a numerical model of gas flow, heat transfer, mass transfer and electrochemical reaction multi-physics field coupling of a planar SOFC is established and solved. According to the calculation results, the distribution of velocity, temperature and concentration inside the SOFC cell is analyzed. The influence of cathode inlet flow rate, porosity, rib width and other parameters on the performance of SOFC is also discussed. The results show that within a certain range, increasing the cathode inlet flow rate can significantly increase the average current density of the cell. Increasing the porosity of the electrode can improve the gas diffusion of the porous electrode, thereby increasing the rate of the electrochemical reaction. Increasing the width of the ribs will result in a significant decrease in cell performance. Therefore, the rib width should be reduced as much as possible within the allowable range to optimize the working performance of the cell.

Keywords: multiphysics coupling; parameter study; physical fields distribution; solid oxide fuel cells; work performance.