Heat transfer phenomena in a solid oxide fuel cell: An analytical approach

The steady-state heat transfer problem within a fuel cell is considered here. The original 2-D problem is defined while an averaging technique is used in order to reduce its dimensions to one. The full heat transfer equations along the appropriate boundary conditions are analytically solved for both solid and gas phase. Moreover, analytical expressions for the local as well as for the overall heat transfer coefficients are obtained. The gas temperature increases with the distance and the current density, while the temperature of the cell is always of so low variation that can be considered as a constant. Finally, the heat transfer coefficient presents a profile reverse to that of gas temperature.