Abstract
We propose a novel interconnector design, termed bi-layer interconnector, for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). It can disturb the fuel gas and air on the planes normal to the SOFC three-phase-boundary (TPB) layer. In this paper, a two-dimensional half-cell model is developed to study the concentration overpotentials in the fuel side of the SOFC stack with conventional and novel bi-layer interconnectors. The numerical results show that the novel bi-layer interconnector can increase the velocity of the fuel gas in the porous anode. The results of mole fraction distribution illustrate that the novel bi-layer interconnector can effectively disturb the fuel flow. The average H-2 mole fraction in the porous anode of SOFC with bi-layer interconnector is about 4.7% higher than that of conventional SOFC. The average H-2 mole fraction at TPB interface is about 9.2% higher. The concentration overpotential of the novel SOFC design is lower than that of the conventional SOFC design by 5%. It can enhance the mass transfer in porous electrode and improve the performance of SOFC. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1994-2003 |
| Journal | International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 9-10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Energy Engineering
Free keywords
- Solid oxide fuel cell
- Bi-layer interconnector
- Mass transfer
- Concentration polarization
- Half-cell model
- Numerical simulation