Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : March 16, 2023 - March 17, 2023
Since a fuel cell stack consists of many cells, it is important to distribute fuel to each cell efficiently to improve performance. In the present study, disc-type solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) model with stacked hollow disks was used to investigate optimum conditions for uniform flow distribution by introducing a cylinder installed coaxially inside the circular supply tube. The velocity fields in the parallel-stacked disk channels are measured by using a particle image velocimetry (PIV). The volumetric flow rate was calculated from the velocity profiles, and distribution of the flow rate through each disk channel are also examined. From the measurement results, it was shown that narrowing the stack spacing of the disks improved the flow uniformity, suppressed vortices at the inlet of the disk channel, and produced a uniform flow field. Furthermore, it was found that equal distribution could be achieved more effectively by installing a cylinder with a diameter that occupies about 16% of the circular supply tube cross-sectional area.
