Comparative Numerical Study of Co- and Counter-Flow Configurations of an All-Porous Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Abstract

The All-Porous Solid Oxide Fuel Cell is a concept in which the electrolyte layer, similar to the other two layers, is porous. Thus, firm sealing between cell layers is not a concern, and fuel and oxidant are free to intermix through the porous electrolyte. Furthermore, The All-Porous Solid Oxide Fuel Cell does not need any sealant, and crack generation in its electrolyte component does not terminate cell operation. Cell performance enhancement, based on the flow geometry, is the main target of this study. To achieve this goal, two flow configurations, co-flow and counter-flow, are considered and compared for a hydrogen-fuelled planar All-Porous Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. A finite element method-based commercial software is utilized to solve the nonlinear governing equations of mass, momentum, energy, charge balance, and gas-phase species coupled with kinetics equations. The results include velocity field distribution, species mole fraction in different layers, and temperature contours within the cell. Results show that the counter flow configuration concept reveals better cell performance.

Keywords

• hydrogen
• solid oxide fuel cell
• all-porous
• flow geometry