Modeling of On-Cell Reforming Reaction for Planar SOFC Stacks

The planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stack is known to suffer thermal problems from high stack temperatures during operation to generate high current. On-Cell Reforming (OCR) phenomenon by the endothermic steam-methane reaction is often used to reduce stack temperature. Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST) conducted single-cell experiments including temperature measurement to validate modeling tool simulations of OCR performance. 2D modeling is used to check the reforming rate during OCR using the temperature measurement data, and 3D modeling is used to check the overall thermal performance including furnace boundary conditions.