Simulation study to select optimal solid oxide fuel cells heat-up pattern from single, dual co-flow, and dual counter-flow alternatives

ABSTRACT

To facilitate power generation, it is necessary to subject solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to a heating process. The introduction of hot gases into the gas flow channels of fuel cells is a widely employed technique for heating purposes. Hot gases can be introduced into one channel (single-channel heating) or two channels (dual-channel heating). Dual-channel heating can have co- and counter-flow patterns. Despite the existence of several heating patterns in the literature, a comparative analysis of these patterns has not been conducted. This study uses a numerical approach to compare various heating patterns, focusing on the objectives of heat-up time, temperature gradient, and energy consumption. The findings indicate that the co-flow pattern demonstrates superior performance in terms of temperature gradient and heat-up time. However, the counter-flow pattern is more favorable in terms of energy consumption. Upon considering all the objectives concurrently through a multi-objective planning approach, the co-flow pattern, characterized by a temperature increase rate of 1 K s⁻¹ and a gas velocity of 10 m s⁻¹, emerges as the most optimal heat-up plan. This particular plan results in a heat-up time of 685 s, a temperature gradient of 337 K cm⁻¹, and an energy consumption of 3856 J.

KEYWORDS:

• Energy consumption
• heat-up time
• dual-channel heating patterns
• solid oxide fuel cell
• temperature gradient

Nomenclature

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Masoud Hami

Masoud Hami received his PhD in mechanical engineering from “University of Guilan” in 2023. He is currently studying on the thermal modeling and optimization of the transient bahavior of solid oxide fuel cells.

Javad Mahmoudimehr

Javad Mahmoudimehr received his PhD in mechanical engineering from “Iran University of Science and Technology” in 2012, and is now an associate professor at “University of Guilan”. Thermal modeling and optimization of renewable energy systems are among his main research interests.