Numerical Investigation of Anode Thickness on the Performance and Heat/Mass Transport Phenomenon for an Anode-Supported SOFC Button Cell

Abstract

This study analyzes how anode thickness and working temperature affect heat/mass transport characteristics and cell performance of the anode-supported SOFC button cell by the finite-volume SIMPLE-C method coupled with preconditioned conjugate gradient methods. The numerical results of this work are compared with the experimental data and good agreement is observed. The simulation is carried out for various anode thicknesses (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mm) and working temperatures (873, 1073, and 1273 K). The results showed that the cell performance reduces about 5.05% as the anode thickness is increased from 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm; however, the influence of anode thickness on the heat/mass transport phenomenon is slight because the geometric size of anode thickness is tiny for the whole SOFC. In addition, the cell performance increases about 50.54% as the working temperature is increased from 873 K to 1273 K. A higher working temperature enhances the fluid velocity and convection and consequently promotes the chemical reaction and obtains a better cell performance.