Evaluation of SOFC Test Data

Abstract

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technol. demands demonstrations of performance for economic assessments and for inhouse development purposes. The data required for the two purposes are different, and an interpretation taking into account the effects of test parameters and effects of the exptl. setup has to be done for comparison of data from different sources. Descriptive parameters are normally offered for ease of comparison such as temp., inlet gas compn., fuel utilization and c.d. However, a more detailed anal. of fuel cell behavior points to a substantial quantity of addnl. information that should be included for a careful evaluation of test data. Some of the important parameters to consider are gas utilization, gas leakage as well as gas diffusion in non-turbulent gas layers. Furthermore parameters such as current distribution, temp. gradients and flow patterns affect the final measurable performance. A discrepancy between cathode performance when tested on full cells and in single electrode test is deduced from exptl. data from Riso and from literature. Tentative explanations are offered. [on SciFinder (R)]