Three-dimensional simulation of heat and mass transport phenomena in planar SOFCs A. Mauro a, *, F. Arpino b , N. Massarotti a a Dipartimento per le Tecnologie (DiT), Universita ` degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope”, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143 Napoli, Italy b Dipartimento di Meccanica, Strutture, Ambiente e Territorio (DiMSAT), Universita ` di Cassino, via Di Biasio 43, Cassino, Italy article info Article history: Received 27 February 2010 Received in revised form 14 July 2010 Accepted 9 October 2010 Available online 23 November 2010 Keywords: Validation Heat transport Temperature field Numerical modeling Generalized porous medium model Finite element method abstract High temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) represent a promising and efficient technology for electrochemical conversion of chemical energy of a fuel into electrical energy. The future development of such technology depends on the availability of detailed and efficient multi-dimensional modeling tools. In this paper, a new three-dimensional finite element algorithm, based on a detailed mathematical model for fuel cells and on the fully explicit Artificial Compressibility (AC) Characteristic Based Split (CBS) scheme, is employed for the effective and efficient modeling of heat and mass transport phenomena coupled with electrochemical reactions in SOFC. The thermal field in the fuel cell is analyzed and the influence of the operating temperature on the fuel cell overall perfor- mance is investigated. The three-dimensional results obtained in this work are also compared to the results carried out by employing the two-dimensional version of the present scheme. The results are validated against experimental data available in the literature. Copyright ª 2010, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The need for more efficient and environmental friendly energy conversion systems has grown dramatically over the last decade, also in relation to the increase in energy demand. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources, that not only are being depleted, but also cause the emission of large quantities of carbon dioxide, one of the “greenhouse gases”. For these reasons, much effort is now put into the search of more efficient ways to use fossil fuels as an energy source and fuel cell technology is one of the most promising alternative technologies for energy conversion, as it can help to improve its efficiency and therefore reduce the impact on the envi- ronment [1]. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs), Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs), Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) and Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFCs) are the different types of FCs that are currently being investigated in the scientific community [2]. Among these, SOFCs are particularly promising since these systems provide many advantages over traditional energy conversion systems including high efficiency, modu- larity, fuel adaptability, and low levels of NO x and SO x emis- sions. The high operating temperature (1073e1273 K) also allows SOFCs to be used for cogenerative applications and makes this technology particularly suitable for stationary power generation [3e5]. However, high operating temperatures can introduce structural problems, due to thermal stresses induced in different materials with different thermal expan- sion coefficients, which can reduce the fuel cell life-time. Nowadays, SOFCs are still not commercially available mainly because of high manufacturing costs and low dura- bility. Therefore, a number of studies have investigated the * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ39 081 5476709; fax: þ39 081 5476780. E-mail addresses: alessandro.mauro@uniparthenope.it (A. Mauro), f.arpino@unicas.it (F. Arpino), massarotti@uniparthenope.it (N. Massarotti). Available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he international journal of hydrogen energy 36 (2011) 10288 e10301 0360-3199/$ e see front matter Copyright ª 2010, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.10.023