FURI | Fall 2020

Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Rapid Thermal Cycling

The objective of current research is to improve the rapid thermal cycling capabilities and the mechanical ruggedness of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) by investigating reactor geometries and cell supports. For this investigation, thermal management of the selected reactor geometry is optimized through computational fluid dynamics, and the resulting flame-assisted fuel cell (FFC) reactor setup utilizing a metal-supported cell (MSC) is tested using the current-voltage method with four-probe technique. The results are analyzed to determine the electrical efficiency, power density, polarization, and thermal cycling capabilities of the setup.