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Numerical simulation and optimization of operating and structural parameters for solid oxide fuel cell

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Abstract

As a novel renewable energy cell type, flat tubular solid oxide fuel cell (FT-SOFC) has the advantages of easy sealing, low resistance, and better stability. Optimization for fuel cell output performance was traditionally implemented through the combination and comparison of a set of experiments or simulations. Optimization algorithms are rarely used in the single cell field. This work contributes to the fuel cell development on performance optimization by combining the numerical simulation with the Nelder-Mead simplex optimization algorithm, where multi-variables are optimized simultaneously. The numerical model is developed based on the constructed three-dimensional FT-SOFC model which fully couples the chemical and physical processes. The dependence of cell performance on a variety of operating and structural characteristics is studied, and five strong correlation parameters are selected as decision variables. Through the simulation-based optimization framework, an optimal combination of these parameters for the maximum power density is obtained. Compared with the original FT-SOFC, the average current density and average power density of the optimized cell is increased by 10.4% and 9.0%, respectively. The optimal solution tends to adopt a higher reactant concentration, and a superior proportion of inlet/outlet width is acquired. In particular, the optimized wide inlet and narrow outlet channel contributes to even current density distribution. The results highlight that the simulation-based optimization has great potential in fuel cell improvements as well as the broad renewable energy application.

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Abbreviations

C i :

molar concentration, mol/m3

R :

gas constant, kJ/(kmol K)

C p :

heat capacity, J/(kg K)

T :

temperature, K

d k :

diffusional driving force, m−1

V cell :

cell voltage, V

D ik :

multicomponent Fick diffusivities, m2/s

x :

mole fraction

\({D}_{i}^{T}\) :

thermal diffusion coefficient, kg/(m s)

α :

charge transfer coefficient

F :

Faraday’s constant, C/mol

ɛ :

porosity

ΔG T.P :

Gibbs free energy, kJ/mol

η :

overpotential, V

i :

current density, A/m2

κ :

permeability

j i :

relative mass flux, kg/(m2·s)

λ :

thermal conductivity, W/(m K)

M i :

molar mass, kg/mol

μ :

viscosity, Pa s

P i :

partial pressure, Pa

ρ :

density, kg/m3

Q :

heat source, W/m3

σ :

electrical conductivity, S/m

u :

velocity, m/s

Φ :

potential, V

V pol :

polarization, V

ɷ i :

mass fraction

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Zhejiang Zhentai Energy Technology Co. Ltd for providing the FT-SOFC. The authors also appreciate the editor and reviewers for their constructive comments.

Funding

We received support from the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang (Grant No. 2021C01100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Jiawei Liao, Hao Jie, Chenxin Zhang & Weirong Hong

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  1. Jiawei Liao
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Correspondence to Weirong Hong.

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Liao, J., Jie, H., Zhang, C. et al. Numerical simulation and optimization of operating and structural parameters for solid oxide fuel cell. J Solid State Electrochem 25, 2321–2332 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-021-05007-8

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