Numerical Analysis of Thermal Stress for a Stack of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Jianmin Zheng, Liusheng Xiao, Mingtao Wu, Shaocheng Lang, Zhonggang Zhang, Ming Chen and Jinliang Yuan
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Jianmin Zheng: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Liusheng Xiao: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Mingtao Wu: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Shaocheng Lang: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Zhonggang Zhang: Marine Engineering Institute, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Ming Chen: Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Jinliang Yuan: Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: In this work, a 3D multi-physics coupled model was developed to analyze the temperature and thermal stress distribution in a planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack, and then the effects of different flow channels (co-flow, counter-flow and cross-flow) and electrolyte thickness were investigated. The simulation results indicate that the generated power is higher while the thermal stress is lower in the co-flow mode than those in the cross-flow mode. In the cross-flow mode, a gas inlet and outlet arrangement is proposed to increase current density by about 10%. The generated power of the stack increases with a thin electrolyte layer, but the temperature and its gradient of the stack also increase with increase of heat generation. The thermal stress for two typical sealing materials is also studied. The predicted results can be used for design and optimization of the stack structure to achieve lower stress and longer life.

Keywords: thermal stress; SOFC stack; flow arrangement; CFD; modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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