Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a device that converts the chemical energy of the fuel into the electricity by the chemical reactions at high temperatures (600-1000oC). Heat is also produced besides the electricity as a result of the electrochemical reactions. Heat produced in the electrochemical reactions causes the thermal stresses, which is one of the most important problems of the SOFC systems. Another important problem of SOFCs is the low fuel utilization ratio. In this study, the effect of the flow arrangement on the temperature distribution, which causes the thermal stresses, and the method to increase the fuel utilization, is investigated.
An SOFC single cell experimental setup is developed for Cross-Flow arrangement design. This setup and experimental conditions are modeled with Fluent® / . The experimental results are used in order to validate and verify the model. The model results are found to capture with the experimental results closely. The validated model is used as a reference to develop the models for different flow arrangements and to investigate the effect of the flow arrangement on the temperature distribution. A method to increase the SOFC fuel utilization ratio is suggested. Models for different flow arrangements are developed and the simulation results are compared to determine the most advantageous arrangement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12614496/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 July 2012 |
| Creators | Sen, Firat |
| Contributors | Tari, Ilker |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | M.S. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
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