Validation of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Model on the International Energy Agency Benchmark Case with Hydrogen Fuel

A detailed model of a solid oxide fuel cell was developed with an object-oriented open-source computational fluid dynamics code based on a finite-volume method. The methodology is derived from a local Nernst equation with associated irreversible losses. Calculations were performed with the International Energy Agency benchmark case #1 with hydrogen as fuel, for co-flow, counter-flow, and cross-flow. While agreement with the results of previous workers was satisfactory, a number of shortcomings with the benchmark case were identified and highlighted. These include over-simplified electro-chemical kinetics, neglect of porous transport layers, and ambiguities associated with the very low flow rates prescribed for the benchmark case.

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