A mathematical model of two-stage Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, SOFC, stacks for dynamic simulation of Combined Heat and Power system fed by natural gas

Zero-dimensional two-stage SOFC stacks dynamic model was developed to investigate the effect of operating parameters on stacks performance. The model resolves spatially thermal and thermo-electrochemical behaviour for electrochemical reactions, Catalytic Partial Oxidation and Steam Reforming processes. Design variables and thermo-electrochemical properties were obtained from in-house-fabricated SOFCs carried out by project partners. The completed SOFCs based Combined Heat and Power, CHP, system model was validated by data¹⁸ and numerical results obtained at steady-state mode showing its high-fidelity. A parametric study with respect to key operating parameters including changes in fuel utilization, lambda number and current density values was conducted. The global CHP system dynamic response, in term of the current/voltage delivered by two-stage SOFC stacks, under a fixed fuel utilization, has been determined resulting in greater variations in the voltage of a single cell in the first stack in comparison to the corresponding values in the second stack.