Dynamic Tank in Series Modeling of Direct Internal Reforming SOFC

Abstract

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with direct internal reforming offer significant efficiency advantages, but modelling their complex transient behaviour presents substantial computational challenges. This study presents and validates a dynamic tank in series reactor model of a direct internally reforming SOFC using experimental data and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for spatial profiles.

The predicted voltage-current (V-I) curves show good agreement with experimental data at different inlet flows and temperatures, with differences less than ±1.5%. The tank in series reactor model provides reasonable understanding of spatio-temporal distribution of key parameters at a much lower computational cost compared to full CFD methods. The model captures spatial variation of temperature in the PEN (positive electrode-electrolyte-negative electrode) structure along with distributions of current density and anode activation overpotential, which are strongly related to temperature and species molar fractions. Dynamic responses to step changes in voltage (0.819 to 0.84 V), fuel flow (15%), and temperature (30°C) are found to be highly dependent on spatial location within the cell, with inlet points reaching steady state more rapidly than other regions. The validated dynamic model provides a computationally efficient tool for studying SOFC transient performance under realistic operating conditions.

@article{hosseini2017dynamic,
  title         = {Dynamic Tank in Series Modeling of Direct Internal Reforming SOFC},
  author        = {Hosseini, Shahin and Vijay, Periasamy and Ahmed, Khaliq and Tad\'{e},
                  Moses O and Pareek, Vishnu and Utikar, Ranjeet},
  year          = 2017,
  journal       = {International Journal of Energy Research},
  volume        = 41,
  number        = 11,
  pages         = {1563--1578},
  doi           = {10.1002/er.3733}
}