Characterizing heat transfer within a commercial-grade tubular solid oxidefuel cell for enhanced thermal management

A thermal transport model has been developed for analyzing heat transfer an d improving thermal management within tubular solid oxide fuel cells (TSOFC s). The model was constructed via a proven electrochemical model and well-e stablished heat transfer correlations. Its predictions compare favorably wi th other published data. Air temperatures consistently approach that of the fuel cell. This is primarily due to the high operating temperature of the cell (1000 degreesC), the moderate magnitudes of radiation and airflow, and cell geometry. The required inlet air temperature (for thermally steady-st ate operation) has linear dependence on operating voltage and fuel utilizat ion. Inlet air temperature has an inverse proportionality with respect to a ir stoichiometric number (i.e., inverse equivalence ratio). The current sta ndard for airflow within TSOFCs was found to be excessive in consideration of the regenerative preheat effect within the supply pipes that feed air to the cell. Thermal management of simple TSOFC systems could be enhanced if commonly used air stoichiometric numbers were decreased. (C) 2001 Internati onal Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. AH rights reserved.