Network Model for the Analysis and Diagnosis of Large SOFC Stacks

In this paper a detailed model for the simulation of large tubular solid oxide fuel cell stacks is presented. The model solves heat transfer, current transfer and fluid flow in the stack. The effect of mass transfer is accounted by means of the information provided by a CFD model of a single cell. The approach used to build the model allows one to simulate large stacks, predicting the temperature, current and mass flow rate profiles, which is particularly suitable for diagnosis purpose. Here the analysis is mainly focused on the thermal model. The model is first applied to a single cell in order to compare the results with a full CFD model. Then the analysis of a large stack is proposed and the results are compared with some available measurements.