Studies on the modeling calculations of the unit molten carbonate fuel cell

Effect of inlet flow maldistribution on the thermal and electrical performance of a molten carbonate fuel cell unit

“…Based on Eqs. (11) and (14), increasing the cell temperature increases the Nernst voltage and reduces the total cell resistance. Therefore, the current density increases with the cell temperature as the Nernst voltage gets increases and total cell resistance in Eq.…”

“…With respect to the relationship between the Nernst voltage and the current density, examining the Eq. (11) indicates that the concentration of gas species influences the Nernst voltage, which declines as the concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen drop. Since the cathode gas is easily obtained from the environment and thus has a larger flow rate in order to cool the cell, the change of the concentration of oxygen is less than that of hydrogen.…”

“…(3) The Nernst voltage and internal total resistance are calculated using Eqs. (11) and (14), and then the current density is obtained from Eq. (13) by setting the cell voltage to a constant value.…”

“…Therefore, this model was suitable for application in predicting the behavior of a control system. Lee et al [11] calculated the temperature distribution, hydrogen conversion, and current density distribution of a unit molten carbonate fuel cell using constant voltage and constant current density methods. The results indicated that cell performance calculated by the constant voltage method fit better the experimental data than that calculated by the constant current density method.…”