Numerical Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer in Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

For solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to be commercialized, their strength needs to be improved, as ceramic materials result in reduced strength. Thus, the concept of metal-supported SOFCs has been developed. However, the mass transfer rate in this type of SOFC may be decreased due to the contact layer and the support layer, which can result in low performance. In this paper, the mass transfer characteristics of a metal-supported SOFC were investigated using numerical simulation. The physical property models, the electrochemical reaction models and the governing equations (mass, momentum, energy and species balance) were simulated simultaneously for a multi-physics analysis. Numerical results are compared with experimental data for a code validation. And then, Current density, temperature and mole fraction in single cell were predicted as numerical results.