Modeling of Reversible Solid Oxide Cell Stacks with an Open-Source Library

Journal of The Electrochemical Society, vol. 169, pp. 114501

Abstract

This work describes a recently-developed numerical model for three-dimensional, steady-state simulations of reversible solid oxide cell (rSOC) stacks, taking into account a heterogeneous temperature field. The model employs a volume-averaged approach, also referred to as the distributed resistance analogy. It considers fluid flow, multi-component species diffusion, as well as heat and mass transfer, including thermal radiation and electrochemical reactions. The implementation of the computational model is based on an open-source library, OpenFOAM. An in-house designed rSOC stack, Mark-H is considered. Simulations are performed for repeating units with a 320 cm2 active area, with both the present stack model and a one-dimensional Simulink model. Both models predict very similar voltages, with a maximum difference of 2% compared to experimental results. The present model shows a temperature distribution closer to the experimental data than the Simulink model, although a slightly longer simulation time is required.

Authors 9

1. Shidong Zhang corresponding

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

2. Roland Peters

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-9, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

3. Bob Austin Varghese

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

4. Robert Deja

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-9, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

5. Nicolas Kruse

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-9, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

6. Steven Beale

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Queen's University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston ON K7L 3N6, Canada

7. L. Blum

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-9, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

8. Ralf Peters

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-9, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

9. Rüdiger‐A. Eichel Aachen Institute of Physical Chemistry

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-9, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Physical Chemistry, 52074, Aachen, Germany