Numerical modeling of physical property and electrochemical reaction for solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are commonly composed of ceramic compartments, and it is known that the physical properties of the ceramic materials can be changed according to the operating temperature. Thus, the physical properties of the ceramic materials have to be properly predicted to develop a highly reliable simulation model. In this study, several physical properties that can affect the performance of SOFCs were selected, and simulation models for those physical properties were developed using our own code. The Gibbs free energy for the open circuit voltage, exchange current densities for the activation polarization, and electrical conductivity for the electrolyte were calculated. In addition, the diffusion coefficient-including the binary and Knudsen diffusion mechanisms-was calculated for mass transport analysis at the porous electrode. The physical property and electrochemical reaction models were then simulated simultaneously. The numerical results were compared with the experimental results and previous works studied by Chan et al for code validation.