Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks

Numerical analysis of a U-type solid oxide fuel cell stack was performed using computational fluid dynamics to investigate the effects of stack capacities and fuel/air utilization rates on the internal flow uniformity. The results indicated that increasing the fuel/air utilization rate improved the...

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Main Authors: Hao Yuan Yin, Kun Woo Yi, Young Jin Kim, Hyeon Jin Kim, Kyong Sik Yun, Ji Haeng Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/22/5764
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author Hao Yuan Yin
Kun Woo Yi
Young Jin Kim
Hyeon Jin Kim
Kyong Sik Yun
Ji Haeng Yu
author_facet Hao Yuan Yin
Kun Woo Yi
Young Jin Kim
Hyeon Jin Kim
Kyong Sik Yun
Ji Haeng Yu
author_sort Hao Yuan Yin
collection DOAJ
description Numerical analysis of a U-type solid oxide fuel cell stack was performed using computational fluid dynamics to investigate the effects of stack capacities and fuel/air utilization rates on the internal flow uniformity. The results indicated that increasing the fuel/air utilization rate improved the gas flow uniformity within the stack for the same stack capacity. The uniformity in the anode fluid domain was better than that in the cathode fluid domain. Furthermore, the flow uniformity within the stack was associated with the percentage of pressure drop in the core region of the stack. The larger the percentage of pressure drop in the core region, the more uniform the flow inside the stack. Additionally, under a fuel utilization rate of 75%, the computational results exhibited excessively high fuel utilization rates in the top cell of a 3 kWe stack, indicating a potential risk of fuel depletion during actual stack operation.
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series Energies
spelling doaj-art-32f6608afdab4b3d96f1fda5b299f9a62025-08-20T01:53:45ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732024-11-011722576410.3390/en17225764Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell StacksHao Yuan Yin0Kun Woo Yi1Young Jin Kim2Hyeon Jin Kim3Kyong Sik Yun4Ji Haeng Yu5Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hannam University, 70 Hannam-ro, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon 34430, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Hannam University, 70 Hannam-ro, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon 34430, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Hannam University, 70 Hannam-ro, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon 34430, Republic of KoreaKorea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Republic of KoreaKorea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Republic of KoreaKorea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Republic of KoreaNumerical analysis of a U-type solid oxide fuel cell stack was performed using computational fluid dynamics to investigate the effects of stack capacities and fuel/air utilization rates on the internal flow uniformity. The results indicated that increasing the fuel/air utilization rate improved the gas flow uniformity within the stack for the same stack capacity. The uniformity in the anode fluid domain was better than that in the cathode fluid domain. Furthermore, the flow uniformity within the stack was associated with the percentage of pressure drop in the core region of the stack. The larger the percentage of pressure drop in the core region, the more uniform the flow inside the stack. Additionally, under a fuel utilization rate of 75%, the computational results exhibited excessively high fuel utilization rates in the top cell of a 3 kWe stack, indicating a potential risk of fuel depletion during actual stack operation.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/22/5764SOFCstacknumerical analysespressure distributionflow uniformity
spellingShingle Hao Yuan Yin
Kun Woo Yi
Young Jin Kim
Hyeon Jin Kim
Kyong Sik Yun
Ji Haeng Yu
Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks
Energies
SOFC
stack
numerical analyses
pressure distribution
flow uniformity
title Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks
title_full Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks
title_fullStr Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks
title_short Numerical Analysis of Flow in U-Type Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks
title_sort numerical analysis of flow in u type solid oxide fuel cell stacks
topic SOFC
stack
numerical analyses
pressure distribution
flow uniformity
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/22/5764
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