Abstract:
In the trend towards the low-temperature development of ammonia-fueled solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), reducing the operational temperature would extend the cell lifespan but introduce challenges such as decreased chemical and electrochemical reaction rates, and increase electrolyte ohmic losses, directly affecting cell performance. Using the COMSOL simulation platform, this study constructs a multi-physics simulation model for SOFC, coupling the internal chemical and electrochemical reactions, mass and energy transfer, and temperature distribution. The analysis quantifies the sensitivity of the ammonia-fueled SOFC's performance to operational temperature and electrolyte thickness. Results reveal that lowering the operational temperature to 700℃ significantly reduces internal thermal stress by 14.37%, notably at the inlet and outlet. Increasing anode thickness and ammonia concentration leads to a 48.76% decline in power density. Employing a 10 μm electrolyte thickness and gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) material raises the average power density to 785.87 W/m
2, a 77.25% increase. Thus, temperature reduction effectively mitigates internal thermal stress and differences in distribution, enhancing cell lifespan. However, the rise in average ammonia concentration and heightened nickel nitride effects might negatively impact cell stability. Methods such as reducing electrolyte thickness and switching electrolyte materials could enhance cell performance.