Thermo-Electrochemical Modeling of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Along the Northern Sea Route: In-Plane Temperature Spread as the Binding Thermal Constraint

초록

The opening of the Northern Sea Route has renewed interest in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for ship propulsion, yet their thermal behavior under Arctic conditions remains unquantified. This study develops a two-dimensional thermo-electrochemical model of a planar SOFC repeat unit coupled to 6-hourly European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) forcing via an insulation–convection–radiation resistance model. Validation uses the International Energy Agency Achenbach benchmark (1.7%–7.6% peak-temperature error) and an 18-cell stack experiment (12.7–14.8 K mean absolute error). In-plane temperature spread, not peak temperature, governs cell operation. Over-insulation increases the spread beyond 200 K, whereas exposure exceeding ~4–7 W m−2 K−1 extinguishes the cell. A narrow operating window, independent of grid, load, and site (~2.4–3.7 W m−2 K−1 or 6.5–12 mm of aerogel), meets the 850 °C and 100 K limits. Because electrolyte- and anode-supported cells share these limits, housing thermal management is the key design lever. © 2013 IEEE.

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