The Impact of Flow-Thermal Characteristics in Ship-Board Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Mathematical Model and Three-Dimensional Numerical Model of SOFC
2.1. Model Assumption
- The SOFC operates normally under steady and adiabatic conditions.
- The gas mixture is an incompressible ideal gas due to the high operating temperature and ambient pressure, and it obeys the ideal gas state equation.
- The flow is laminar in the channel as the flow rate is low (Re < 2400).
- In the SOFC, all electrochemical and heterogeneous chemical reactions occur at the surface of the electrolyte.
- The effects of gravity and the heat transfer in the stack are neglected.
- The electrode is a homogeneous isotropic medium with a porous microstructure.
2.2. Model Governing Equation
2.3. Classic and Curved SOFC Model
2.4. Boundary Conditions
3. Analysis of Classical Channel Structure
3.1. Model Verification
3.2. Velocity Distribution of Classical Model
3.3. Temperature Distribution of Classical Model
3.4. Species Distribution of Classical Model
4. Analysis of Curved Channel Structure
4.1. Velocity Distribution of Curved Model
4.2. Temperature Distribution of Curved Model
4.3. Species Distribution of Curved Model
4.4. Performance Comparison
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- Analysis of the power density curve indicated that the power density of the optimized model was 2.42% higher than that of the classical model and 1.71% higher than that of the asymptotic model.
- (2)
- In the temperature field, it was observed that the temperature distribution of the counter-flow field was more uniform, with lower maximum temperatures, compared to different flow directions. This shows that the counter-current flow field is more conducive to enhancing SOFC performance than the forward flow field. Additionally, this study identified a gradual temperature increase from the fuel inlet and outlet sides toward the middle of the structure, with overall temperatures at the electrolyte–anode interface greater than those at the electrolyte–cathode interface.
- (3)
- In the velocity field, the gas velocity is highest at the center of the gas channel. As the gas diffuses toward the diffusion electrode, its velocity gradually decreases, reaching near-zero velocity upon reaching the diffusion-layer wall.
- (4)
- The gas concentration at the electrode decreases rapidly in the first half of the air inlet, followed by a slower rate of concentration decrease. However, hydrogen exhibits a more uniform distribution on the same horizontal interface compared to oxygen.
- (1)
- The length of the flow channels and the arrangement of baffle blocks affect the thermal characteristics of the fuel cell.
- (2)
- This study focused on the internal flow field, and it did not study the influence of the gas flow mode of the external flow field on the SOFC performance. The gas flow mode in the external flow field involves the uniformity of the temperature distribution of the SOFC, which in turn affects the cell life.
- (3)
- The model established in this study is a steady-state model, and in actual operation, the temperature, flow rate, pressure and electrochemical reaction rate all change with time. It is necessary to establish a transient model for further studies.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Symbols’ Meanings
Symbol | Representative Significance | Unit | Symbol | Representative Significance | Unit |
AFL | Anode functional layer | —— | ASL | Anode-supported layer | |
CCCL | Cathode current collector layer | —— | CFL | Cathode functional layer | —— |
Reference concentrations of hydrogen and water | mol/m3 | Specific constant pressure heat capacity of the gas j | J/(kg·K) | ||
Molar concentration ratios in the SOFC activation region | —— | Effective binary diffusion coefficient (i and j are different substances) | m2/s | ||
Molecular diffusion coefficient | m2/s | Knudsen diffusion | m2/s | ||
Standard electromotive force | V | Activation energies | J/mol | ||
EL | Electrolyte layer | —— | Faraday constant | C/mol | |
Current density | A/m2 | Unit matrix | |||
IN | Interconnect | —— | Pre-exponential constant | —— | |
Effective heat conductivity | W/(m·K) | Heat conduction coefficient of gas | W/(m·K) | ||
Heat conduction coefficient of solid | W/(m·K) | Molar amount of each gas | kg/mol | ||
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell | —— | Total pressure of the gas | Pa | ||
Partial pressure of substance i | Pa | Heat source term | W/m3 | ||
Gas constant | J/(kg·K) | Effective pore diameter | m | ||
Change in entropy before and after the electrochemical reaction | J/(mol·K) | Activated surface area | 1/m | ||
Solid-state oxide fuel cells | —— | T | Temperature of the gas | K | |
Speed field vector | m/s | Activation polarization | —— | ||
Concentration polarization | —— | Volume diffusion coefficient | M3 | ||
Ohmic polarization | Mole fraction | ||||
Anodic and cathodic transfer coefficients of the electrodes | —— | Thickness of the anode layer | mm | ||
Porosity | —— | Overpotential of activation polarization | V | ||
Volume fraction of conductive material | —— | Permeability | m2 | ||
Viscosity | Pa·s | Density | kg/m3 | ||
Conductivity of the anode | S/m | Effective electronic conductivity | —— | ||
Effective ionic conductivity | —— | Tortuosity of gas transfer in the porous electrode | —— | ||
Potential | V | —— | —— | —— |
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Parameter | Value (mm) | |
---|---|---|
Cell length | 60 | |
Gas channel | Width | 2 |
Height | 1 | |
Width of the channel | 2 | |
Height of the interconnect | 1 | |
Anode | Thickness of the ASL | 0.01 |
Thickness of the AFL | 0.3 | |
Thickness of the EL | 0.01 | |
Cathode | Thickness of the CFL | 0.03 |
Thickness of the CCCL | 0.08 |
Parameter | Value (mm) | |
---|---|---|
Cell length | 60 | |
Gas channel | Width | 2 |
Height | 1 | |
Width of the channel | 2 | |
Height of the interconnect | 1 | |
Anode | Thickness of the ASL | 0.01 |
Thickness of the AFL | 0.3 | |
Thickness of the EL | 0.01 | |
Cathode | Thickness of the CFL | 0.03 |
Thickness of the CCCL | 0.08 |
Parameter | Value | Parameter | Value | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thermal conductivity | Anode | 15 | Density | Anode | 6870 |
EL | 2.7 | EI | 5900 | ||
Cathode | 20 | Cathode | 6570 | ||
Porosity | Anode | 0.452 | Exchange coefficient | Anode | 1 |
Cathode | 0.452 | Cathode | 1 | ||
Pre-exponential constant | Anode | R [J/(kg·K)] | 8.314 | ||
Cathode | F [C/mol] | 96,500 | |||
Activation energy | Anode | —— | —— | —— | |
Cathode |
Parameter | Temperature (K) | Species | Velocity (m/s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fuel | Inlet | 1073 | H2∶H2O = 0.95∶0.05 | 2.5 |
Outlet | 1073 | - | - | |
Air | Inlet | 1073 | O2∶N2 = 0.21∶0.79 | 1.5 |
Outlet | 1073 | - | - | |
Top wall of the anode interconnect | Adiabatic | Convection | Wall | |
Bottom wall of the cathode interconnect | Adiabatic | Convection | Wall |
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Li, J.; Ding, Y.; Wu, T.; Gong, Z.; Fan, Y.; Ma, H.; Kwon, J.-T.; Ni, W.; Li, J. The Impact of Flow-Thermal Characteristics in Ship-Board Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12, 1779. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12101779
Li J, Ding Y, Wu T, Gong Z, Fan Y, Ma H, Kwon J-T, Ni W, Li J. The Impact of Flow-Thermal Characteristics in Ship-Board Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2024; 12(10):1779. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12101779
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Jiqiang, Yexun Ding, Tong Wu, Zhenyu Gong, Yong Fan, Haoran Ma, Jeong-Tae Kwon, Weixin Ni, and Jichao Li. 2024. "The Impact of Flow-Thermal Characteristics in Ship-Board Solid Oxide Fuel Cells" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 12, no. 10: 1779. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12101779
APA StyleLi, J., Ding, Y., Wu, T., Gong, Z., Fan, Y., Ma, H., Kwon, J.-T., Ni, W., & Li, J. (2024). The Impact of Flow-Thermal Characteristics in Ship-Board Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 12(10), 1779. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12101779