TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of thermal conductivity on the thermal behavior of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells
AU - Aman, Nurul Ashikin Mohd Nazrul
AU - Muchtar, Andanastuti
AU - Rosli, Masli Irwan
AU - Baharuddin, Nurul Akidah
AU - Somalu, Mahendra Rao
AU - Kalib, Noor Shieela
PY - 2020/5
Y1 - 2020/5
N2 - Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are among one of the promising technologies for efficient and clean energy. SOFCs offer several advantages over other types of fuel cells under relatively high temperatures (600oC to 800oC). However, the thermal behavior of SOFC stacks at high operating temperatures is a serious issue in SOFC development because it can be associated with detrimental thermal stresses on the life span of the stacks. The thermal behavior of SOFC stacks can be influenced by operating or material properties. Therefore, this work aims to investigate the effects of the thermal conductivity of each component (anode, cathode, and electrolyte) on the thermal behavior of samarium-doped ceria-based SOFCs at intermediate temperatures. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate SOFC operation at 600oC. The temperature distributions and gradients of a single cell at 0.7 V under different thermal conductivity values are analyzed and discussed to determine their relationship. Simulations reveal that the influence of thermal conductivity is more remarkable for the anode and electrolyte than for the cathode. Increasing the thermal conductivity of the anode by 50% results in a 23% drop in the maximum thermal gradients. The results for the electrolyte are subtle, with a ~67% reduction in thermal conductivity that only results in an 8% reduction in the maximum temperature gradient. The effect of thermal conductivity on temperature gradient is important because it can be used to predict thermal stress generation.
AB - Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are among one of the promising technologies for efficient and clean energy. SOFCs offer several advantages over other types of fuel cells under relatively high temperatures (600oC to 800oC). However, the thermal behavior of SOFC stacks at high operating temperatures is a serious issue in SOFC development because it can be associated with detrimental thermal stresses on the life span of the stacks. The thermal behavior of SOFC stacks can be influenced by operating or material properties. Therefore, this work aims to investigate the effects of the thermal conductivity of each component (anode, cathode, and electrolyte) on the thermal behavior of samarium-doped ceria-based SOFCs at intermediate temperatures. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate SOFC operation at 600oC. The temperature distributions and gradients of a single cell at 0.7 V under different thermal conductivity values are analyzed and discussed to determine their relationship. Simulations reveal that the influence of thermal conductivity is more remarkable for the anode and electrolyte than for the cathode. Increasing the thermal conductivity of the anode by 50% results in a 23% drop in the maximum thermal gradients. The results for the electrolyte are subtle, with a ~67% reduction in thermal conductivity that only results in an 8% reduction in the maximum temperature gradient. The effect of thermal conductivity on temperature gradient is important because it can be used to predict thermal stress generation.
KW - Computational Fluid Dynamics
KW - Modeling
KW - SOFC
KW - Thermal Behavior
KW - Thermal Conductivity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090742463&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.33961/jecst.2019.00276
DO - 10.33961/jecst.2019.00276
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85090742463
SN - 2093-8551
VL - 11
SP - 132
EP - 139
JO - Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
JF - Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
IS - 2
ER -