Temperature Measurement and Distribution Inside Planar SOFC Stacks

Abstract

In this work, a kind of thin K‐type thermocouple and self‐developed CAS‐I sealant were used to assembly solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks and temperatures of unit cells inside a planar SOFC stack were measured. The open circuit voltage testing of the stack and characterization of the interface between sealant and components suggested excellent sealing effect by applying the developed method. The effect of discharging direct‐current on temperature and temperature distribution inside the designed SOFC stack was investigated. The results showed that the discharging current had a great impact and the gas flow rate had a slight impact on the temperatures of unit cells. Temperature distribution of unit cells inside the stack was much non‐uniform and there is a significant temperature difference between various components of the stack and heating environment. The relationship between temperatures and cell performance showed that the worse the cell performance, the higher the cell surface temperature. When the stack was discharged at a constant current and the temperature of cell surface was over 950 °C, the higher the temperature, the more drop the corresponding voltage.

Achieving 360 NL h−1 Hydrogen Production Rate Through 30‐Cell Solid Oxide Electrolysis Stack with LSCF–GDC Composite Oxygen Electrode

“…The oxygen electrode side of the interconnect was densely coated with Ni–Cr/LSM composite coating through plasma spraying to protect this side from high‐temperature oxidation and Cr vaporization. The sealing material used was Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –CaO‐based glass; the performance of this material has been described in the literature 14. For full contact between the cell hydrogen electrode and metal interconnect, an NiO layer of 70 to 80 μm thickness was printed on the hydrogen electrode side of the cell by screen printing to function as a current‐collecting layer.…”

“…The average hydrogen production rate was only approximately 1,200 NL h −1 based on as many as a 720‐cell stack, and significant performance degradation was observed. The Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has also developed stacks for SOFC applications 14, 15, and showed the feasibility of using these stacks in SOEC mode for hydrogen production for as long as 1,100 h with LSM–YSZ oxygen electrode cells 16. However, very few studies are available regarding the performance of multiple‐cell (>5‐cell) SOE stacks with LSCF oxygen electrode cells for large‐scale hydrogen production.…”

Study on dynamic performance of SOFC

“…The experimental results show that the electrochemical reaction is extremely fast enough to consume all reactants reaching the reaction interface [9]. …”

Quasi-distributed resistive sensor for steady-state field measurements

“…The main important component of SOFC design is the presence of uniform temperature distribution and minimization of thermal stresses between its components due to temperature difference [5]. Therefore, knowledge of temperature distribution allows obtaining the current density distribution within the SOFC stack [6].…”