Entropy Generation in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

The aim of the paper is to investigate possible improvements in the design of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). The first improvement is conducted on the system, by performing a second law analysis at component level. The analysis is then performed on the fuel cell. To achieve this purpose, a CFD model of the cell is used. The model includes energy equation, fluid dynamics in the channels and in porous media, current transfer, chemical reactions and electrochemistry. The analysis of the cell performances is conducted on the basis of the entropy generation. The use of this technique makes it possible to identify the phenomena provoking the main irreversibilities, understand their causes and propose changes in the system design and operation. The different contributions to the entropy generation are analyzed in order to develop new geometries that increase the fuel cell efficiency.