Three-Dimensional Simulation of the Operating Characteristics of Cell Layers in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

In this study, a three-dimensional numerical simulation of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with dimensions of 6 cm × 6 cm on the anode side and 5 cm × 5 cm on the cathode side (active area) was conducted to determine the performance characteristics of the cell electrodes. The performance characteristics of each SOFC unit cell were investigated through numerical simulations. 3.5a COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to solve the model. The effects of the operating conditions, fuel concentration, and electrode porosity on the electrochemical performance of the SOFC electrodes were examined. In addition, an experiment was conducted to investigate the operating cell performance at 600, 700, and 750 °C. The results indicate that a higher electrode porosity can improve fuel mass transfer, resulting in an almost uniform H2 concentration at a porosity of 0.75 when the model was investigated with electrode porosities of 0.25, 0.375, 0.55, and 0.75. The simulation results also reveal that the performance of the voltage distribution on electrode surfaces is improved when the input operating temperature of the fuel cell is increased at different temperatures (650, 700, and 750 °C). At the operating temperature of 750 °C, it can be seen from the experimental results that the highest current and voltage of the cell were 587.4 mA·cm−2 and 1.12 V, respectively.