Dynamic numerical analysis of cross-, co-, and counter-current flow configuration of a 1 kW-class solid oxide fuel cell stack

Kupecki, Jakub; Milewski, Jarosław; Szczęśniak, Arkadiusz; Bernat, Rafał; Motyliński, Konrad

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.008

Cited by 34 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…As a result, the experimental data has been obtained, which have been used to verify the design and modelling calculations [14,15]. In addition, the experimental results will be used for further work aimed to developing technology of cogeneration systems, including micro -CHP systems based on SOFC stacks [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells coupled with a biomass gasification unit

2016

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Abstract.A possibility of fuelling a solid oxide fuel cell stack (SOFC) with biomass fuels can be realized by coupling a SOFC system with a self-standing gasification unit. Such a solution enables multi-fuel operation, elasticity of the system as well as the increase of the efficiency of small-scale biomass-to-electricity conversion units. A system of this type, consisting of biomass gasification unit, gas purification unit, SOFC stack, anode off-gas afterburner and peripherals was constructed and operated successfully. During the process, biomass fuel (wood chips) was gasified with air as gasification agent. The gasifier was capable of converting up to 30 kW of fuel to syngas with efficiencies up to 75%. Syngas leaving the gasification unit is delivered to a medium temperature adsorber for sulphur compounds removal. Steam is added to the purified fuel to maintain steam to carbon ratio higher than 2. The syngas then is passed to a SOFC stack through a fuel preheater. In such a configuration it was possible to operate a commercial 1.3 kW stack within its working regime. Conducted tests confirmed successful operation of a SOFC stack fuelled by biomass-sourced syngas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells coupled with a biomass gasification unit

2016

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“…In the chosen methodology for the present study, solid oxide cells electrical operation is calculated as equivalent electric circuit. This solution was already used to predict performance of SOFC-based power units both in steady state [31] and in transient operations [32]. In both cases, proposed methodology was validated and calibrated based on the experimental data, resulting in prediction error below 5%.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of off-design characteristics of solid oxide electrolyser (SOE) operated in endothermic conditions

et al. 2019

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One of the key issues in the energy production sector worldwide is the efficient way to storage energy. Currently- more and more attention is focused on Power-to-Gas (P2G) installations- where excess electric power from the grid or various renewable energy sources is used to produce different kind of fuels- such as hydrogen. In such cases- generated fuels are treated as energy carriers which- in contrast to electricity- can be easy stored and transported. Currently- high temperature electrolysers- based solid oxide cells (SOC)- are treated as an interesting alternative for P2G systems. Solid oxide electrolysers (SOE) are characterized as highly efficient (~90%) and long-term stable technologies- which can be coupled with stationary power plants. In the current work- the solid oxide cell stack was operated in electrolysis mode in the endothermic conditions. Based on the gathered experimental data- the numerical model of the SOC stack was created and validated. The prepared and calibrated model was used for generation of stack performance maps for different operating conditions. The results allowed to determine optimal working conditions for the tested stack in the electrolysis mode- thus reducing potential costs of expensive experimental analysis and test campaigns.

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“…During the next years, the TPG is planning further activities using this experimental facility in HIL configuration, as in agreement with the newest research issues for hybrid system development (such as SOFC degradation impact, advanced control strategies, surge prevention through measurable precursors, etc.) [39][40][41][42][43]. An initial work will be carried out to assess the SOFC temperature control system considering the grid-connected mode configuration for the T100 turbine.…”

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hardware-in-the-Loop Operations With an Emulator Rig for SOFC Hybrid Systems

Ferrari

Sorce

Massardo

2017

Volume 3: Coal, Biomass and Alternative Fuels; Cycle Innovations; Electric Power; Industrial and Cogeneration Applications; Org

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This paper shows the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) technique developed for the complete emulation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) based hybrid systems. This approach is based on the coupling of an emulator test rig with a real-time software for components which are not included in the plant. The experimental facility is composed of a T100 microturbine (100 kW electrical power size) modified for the connection to an SOFC emulator device. This component is composed of both anodic and cathodic vessels including also the anodic recirculation system which is carried out with a single stage ejector, driven by an air flow in the primary duct. However, no real stack material was installed in the plant. For this reason, a real-time dynamic software was developed in the Matlab-Simulink environment including all the SOFC system components (the fuel cell stack with the calculation of the electrochemical aspects considering also the real losses, the reformer, and a cathodic recirculation based on a blower, etc.). This tool was coupled with the real system utilizing a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) data exchange approach (the model receives flow data from the plant at the inlet duct of the cathodic vessel, while it is able to operate on the turbine changing its set-point of electrical load or turbine outlet temperature). So, the software is operated to control plant properties to generate the effect of a real SOFC in the rig. In stand-alone mode the turbine load is changed with the objective of matching the measured Turbine Outlet Temperature (TOT) value with the calculated one by the model. In grid-connected mode the software/hardware matching is obtained through a direct manipulation of the TOT set-point. This approach was essential to analyze the matching issues between the SOFC and the micro gas turbine devoting several tests on critical operations, such as start-up, shutdown and load changes. Special attention was focused on tests carried out to solve the control system issues for the entire real hybrid plant emulated with this HIL approach. Hence, the innovative control strategies were developed and successfully tested considering both the Proportional Integral Derivative and advanced approaches. Thanks to the experimental tests carried out with this HIL system, a comparison between different control strategies was performed including a statistic analysis on the results The positive performance obtainable with a Model Predictive Control based technique was shown and discussed. So, the HIL system presented in this paper was essential to perform the experimental tests successfully (for real hybrid system development) without the risks of destroying the stack in case of failures. Mainly surge (especially during transient operations, such as load changes) and other critical conditions (e.g. carbon deposition, high pressure difference between the fuel cell sides, high thermal gradients in the stack, excessive thermal stress in the SOFC system components, etc.) have to be carefully avoided in complete plants.

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Dynamic numerical analysis of cross-, co-, and counter-current flow configuration of a 1 kW-class solid oxide fuel cell stack

Cited by 34 publications

References 23 publications

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells coupled with a biomass gasification unit

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells coupled with a biomass gasification unit

Investigation of off-design characteristics of solid oxide electrolyser (SOE) operated in endothermic conditions

Hardware-in-the-Loop Operations With an Emulator Rig for SOFC Hybrid Systems

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