Dynamic characteristics of a solid oxide fuel cell with direct internal reforming of methane

Dynamic characteristics of a solid oxide fuel cell with direct internal reforming of methane

Type	Journal Article
Author	Thinh X. Ho
URL	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196890416000662
Volume	113
Pages	44-51
Publication	Energy Conversion and Management
Date	April 1, 2016
Abstract	Presents an analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) working with direct internal reforming of methane when subjected to unsteady conditions. Researchers studied a cell of planar type with the anode-supported structure and the co-flow configuration. Because of the reforming and the water–gas shift reactions, it is well known that the steady operation of a cell working with natural gas differs from that with hydrogen. Because these chemical reactions are strongly temperature-dependent, the former is expected to become much more complex than the latter under unsteady states. It is necessary in the viewpoints of degradation and performance efficiency to understand the evolution of the thermal gradient/stress, the fuel concentration, etc. when the cell is subjected to changes such as load demand. Researchers used a three-dimensional numerical model. Step changes of the output voltage were introduced to the cell. Results for the temporal profiles of the temperature, the current density, the activation overpotential and the gas concentration distributions in the cell are presented and discussed. It is found that the overshoot in the activation does not appear throughout the cell, but only in the exit region when the voltage jumps from 0.7 V to 0.6 V.