High-fidelity stack and system modeling for tubular solid oxide fuel cell system design and thermal management

Effective thermal integration of system components is critical to the performance of small-scale (<10 kW) solid oxide fuel cell systems. This paper presents a steady-state design and simulation tool for a highly-integrated tubular SOFC system. The SOFC is modeled using a high fidelity, one-dimensional tube model coupled to a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Recuperative heat exchange between SOFC tail-gas and inlet cathode air and reformer air/fuel preheat processes are captured within the CFD model. Quasi one-dimensional thermal resistance models of the tail-gas combustor (TGC) and catalytic partial oxidation (CPOx) complete the balance of plant (BoP) and SOFC coupling. The simulation tool is demonstrated on a prototype 66-tube SOFC system with 650 W of nominal gross power. Stack cooling predominately occurs at the external surface of the tubes where radiation accounts for 66–92% of heat transfer. A strong relationship develops between the power output of a tube and its view factor to the relatively cold cylinder wall surrounding the bundle. The bundle geometry yields seven view factor groupings which correspond to seven power groupings with tube powers ranging from 7.6–10.8 W. Furthermore, the low effectiveness of the co-flow recuperator contributes to lower tube powers at the bundle outer periphery.

Research highlights▶ A thermally coupled tubular SOFC system model is presented. ▶ High-fidelity stack model captures thermofluidic interactions in/around the stack. ▶ Radiation dominates heat transfer from small scale (<1 kW) stacks. ▶ Strong relationship between cell performance and radiation view factors develops. ▶ Cell power disparities revealed ranging from 7.6 to 10.8 W.