Detailed Dynamic Modeling of a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Stack with Indirect Internal Reformers

Abstract

A detailed dynamic model of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) stack that can predict the distribution of process variables over the cell surface and along the stacking direction is presented. The model describes a repeating unit of the stack, which is composed of eight cells and one indirect internal reformer (IIR). The set of partial differential equations for the MCFC model is reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations through discretization using the cubic spline collocation method and the finite difference method. The steady‐state and dynamic behaviors of the eight‐cell stack model are compared with those of the one‐cell model, which has been commonly used in previous studies on MCFC dynamics, and three‐cell aggregate model. The distribution of the process variables along the stacking direction cannot be disregarded, and thus more detailed model should be used for the accurate reproduction of MCFC dynamics.