Investigate the effect of a parallel-cylindrical flow field on the solid oxide fuel cell stack performance by 3D multiphysics simulating

In this paper, the 3D electrochemical-multiphysics coupling models for the one-cell solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks with the parallel flow field and a new parallel-cylindrical flow field have been developed and verified to evaluate their working characteristics. Firstly, the 3D model is established based on the realistic component structures including the solid, fluid, and porous components. Secondly, the momentum, mass, species, and energy transports, and the electrochemical reactions are coupled to the corresponding regions for carefully considering their effects on the performance. The analyzing result shows that a typical SOFC using the parallel-cylindrical rib configuration is concluded to be proper designing in achieving a good stack performance. The SOFC stack adopting the new parallel-cylindrical flow field would increase the electric current density by 38 % and improve the reactant distribution uniformity by 60 % than that with the traditional parallel flow field.