Proceedings of

ASME TURBO EXPO 2004

14-17 June, Vienna, Austria

GT2004-53787
MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF SOFC (SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL) FOR POWER PLANT
SIMULATIONS
Jarosaw Milewski

Andrzej Miller

Institute of Heat Engineering

Warsaw University of Technology
ul. Nowowiejska 25, 00-665 Warsaw
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Presentation of concept of SOFC model is given. The SOFC
model was built in HYSYS.Plant environment based on its standard
libraries. Main elements of SOFC model and chemical reactions are
presented. Selected performance characteristics at the design point of
stand-alone SOFC are presented.
The new equation to define of SOFC voltage, which was obtained
based on new assumptions and which can be used instead of the Nernst
equation, is given.
NOMENCLATURE
B
E
F
I
K

p
P
T
Greek letters

Subscripts
CH4
const
f

H2
H2O
max

gas constant, 8.31451[kJ/kg/K]

cell voltage [V]
Faraday constant, 96485.309 [C/mol]
current [A]
chemical equilibrium constant [-]
molar flow [kg/s]
pressure, partial pressure [Pa]
power [kW]
absolute temperature [K]
utilization factor, efficiency [-]

methane
constant
fuel
hydrogen
water
maximum

O=
O2
Ohm

oxygen ion
oxygen
ohmic

Superscripts
in

inlet

INTRODUCTION
The SOFCs generate electricity through electrochemical
processes, which occur at electrodes. The negative oxygen ions pass
through solid electrolyte. At the anode two electrons from each ion
escape, and in this way DC current is generated via external circuit. It
is predicted that fuel cell, especially of SOFC type, will play big role
in the distributed generation systems [1] in the nearest future. To
obtain high efficiency needed, the SOFC should operate inside an
appropriate power plant. For the design of such a power plant system
the proper mathematical model of SOFC (as an element of the system)
is needed. The concept of SOFC mathematical model is presented
further on. Obtained results show that system efficiency related to
stand-alone (without external cycle) SOFC power plant is about 46 %
(LHV). With additional cycle, the power plant efficiency can increase
to about 75 % (LHV). These values are high in comparison with
standard cycles (combined gas-steam cycles) which work at higher
temperatures (about 1500 C).
MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF SOFC
For the purpose of modeling, the Siemens-Westinghouse unit [2]
has been chosen. Fuel cells of this unit are of tubular design. This
design seems to be now the most perspective one. Scheme of this type
of fuel cell with indicated flows is given in Figure 1.

Copyright 2004 by ASME

When one mol per second of hydrogen reacts with a half mol per
second of oxygen ions, two mols per second of electrons escape to an
external circuit. The voltage in this circuit is given by the following
equation [3]:

E = Emax Eactivation EOhm Econcentration

(5)

where: E overall cell voltage; Emax maximum voltage given

by thermodynamic performance; Eactivation loss of activation
processes; Econcentration loss of non-infinity speed of reacting gases;
EOhm loss of resistance of electrolyte, electrodes etc.
At the design point most of those variables could be considered as
constants:

Figure 1 Concept of high-pressure solid oxide fuel

cell proposed by Siemens-Westinghouse
Corporation

Eactivation = constant
EOhm = constant

Proposed mathematical model was built in HYSYS.Plant

environment (version 2.1) and is based on its standard libraries. It
consists of the following components:

Econcentration = constant
Equation (5) can be rewritten as follows:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Anode
Cathode
Combustion Chamber
Heat Exchanger
Recirculator
Jet Pump
Pre-reformer

(6)

E = Emax Econst
The Emax value is given by the Nernst equation [3]:
1

Anode
The Plug Flow Reactor was used for modeling of the anode
where main processes occur. They are: hydrogen oxidation, electron
escape, reforming and shifting of methane. The following reactions
take place there:
CH4 + H2O

3H2 + CO

(1)

CO + H2O

H2 + CO2

(2)

H2 + 1/2O2

H2O

(3)

Of course, it is possible to oxidize methane and carbon monoxide

directly on the anode, but to simplify the model, it was assumed that
only reactions given above are present.
In the HYSYS.Plant environment, the influence of temperature on
reaction progress is defined by chemical equilibrium constant. In
HYSYS.Plant, the following equation approximates this constant:

K = Ae

E
BT

(4)

Emax

BT pH 2 pO22
ln
= E0 +
2F
pH 2 O

where: E0 voltage under standard conditions;

partial pressure at the anode;
cathode and

pH 2O

pO2

(7)

pH 2 - hydrogen

- oxygen partial pressure at the

- water partial pressure at the anode.

Equation (7) was obtained for the situation when partial pressures
of reactants and products are separated from each other. In the SOFC,
at the anode flow, the reactant (hydrogen) and the product (water) are
mixed. It means that the partial pressure of hydrogen has influence on
the partial pressure of water. Here, there is no place for a full
derivation, but for the one based on thermodynamic analyses only. It
could be used in every calculation where continuous flow, both at the
anode and cathode are present.
Instead of the equation (7), the equation (8) was derived with new
assumptions. The following equation gives the result of the new
derivation proposed by Milewski:

where: A, E factors

SOFC
max

f
cathode _ inlet
1
BT
BT pO2
BT
2 o / h + BT ln 1 f
=
ln K +
ln anode _ inlet +
ln
2F
4F
pH 2
4F
1+ s / h
2F
s / h + f

(8)

Copyright 2004 by ASME

where:

The current generated by the cell could be taken from fuel

utilization factor and hydrogen mass flow fed to the anode:
- fuel utilization factor;

partial pressure at the cathode;

_ inlet
pOcathode
2

anode _ inlet
H2

- inlet oxygen

_ inlet
I = 2 F nHanode
f 103
2

- inlet hydrogen partial

pressure at the anode; o / h - oxygen-to-hydrogen ratio;

steam-to-hydrogen ratio.

s/h

The internal resistance could be referred to as the inlet molar flow

of hydrogen:
_ inlet
rf = 2 F nHanode
Rcell 103
2

The fuel utilization factor is given as:

f =

anode _ outlet
H2

(9)

_ inlet
nHanode
2

_ inlet
nHanode
2

where:

_ inlet
_ outlet
nHanode
nHanode
2
2

SOFC
ESOFC = Emax
f rf

_ inlet
nOcathode
2

_ inlet
nOcathode
2
_ inlet
nHanode
2

(10)

The electrolyte has its own characteristic of resistance. According

to this characteristic, negative oxygen ions can pass through electrolyte
only if its temperature is acceptable. The different type of SOFCs work
within wide temperature range. In this model, it was assumed that
working temperature of the SOFC analyzed is about 1000 C.
Activation of the conductivity of electrolyte was described by the
following function [4]:

- inlet oxygen molar flow to the cathode

electrolyte

The steam-to-hydrogen ratio is given as:

s/h =
_ inlet
nHanode
2O

anode _ inlet
H 2O
anode _ inlet
H2

(11)

Rcell - cell resistance [

E = electrolyte ESOFC

(18)

If different gases (such as methane and carbon monoxide) are

supplied to the anode, inlet equivalent hydrogen molar flow to the
anode can be calculated as:
inlet
anode inlet
anode inlet
nHin2 = nHanode
+ 4nCH
+ nCO
2
4

(19)

(12)
];

Acell - cell active area [cm2].

The irreversible losses could be defined as follows:

irreversible = i r
where:

(17)

The equation used for SOFC voltage modeling was:

- inlet steam molar flow to the anode

r = Rcell Acell

a
tgh 2 T a + 1
b
=
2

where: a, b factors.

Equation (8) defines maximum voltage of SOFC which could be

obtained by electrochemical process. Irreversible losses could be taken
into consideration as the internal resistance of the cell. Generally, the
internal resistance is defined as follows:

where:

(16)

- hydrogen molar flow from the anode.

o/h =

where:

(15)

Taking equations (8), (13), (14) and (15) into consideration, the
voltage of SOFC can be defined as follows:

- hydrogen molar flow to the anode;

The oxygen-to-hydrogen ratio is given as:

where:

(14)

i - current density [A/cm2]

Cathode
The cathode model was created with the aid of Component
Splitter, which is available in HYSYS.Plant environment. Oxygen ion
mass flow, which is separated from airflow, was calculated from the
following equation:

1
nO = = f nHin2
2

(13)

(20)

It depends on the fuel utilization factor and hydrogen molar flow

supplied to the anode.

Copyright 2004 by ASME

Combustion chamber
The combustion chamber model was created with the aid of Plug
Flow Reactor available in HYSYS.Plant environment. The following
reactions take place there:
CH4 + O2

2H2O + CO2

CO + 1/2O2
H2 + 1/2O2

high temperature. If no catalyst is used, this boundary temperature is

shown in Figure 2.

(21)

CO2

(22)

H2O

(23)

In the combustion chamber, the remaining non-oxidized fuels,

included in the recirculator outlet flow, are fired.
Heat Exchanger
In HYSYS.Plant environment, Heat Exchanger is characterized
by UA value. Because of small volume of this device and small
heating area, UA value was assumed to be 1kW/K only.
Recirculator
Recirculator was created with the aid of Tee, which is an element
of HYSYS.Plant environment. The quantity of recirculated gases is
adjusted to the s/c ratio:

s/c =
where:

nH 2O -

nH 2O
nCH 4

Figure 2 Effect of inlet gases temperature on steam

reforming of methane (mass fractions in outlet flow)
The influence of pressure on steam reforming of methane is
smaller than temperature influence and is presented in Figure 3.

(24)

steam molar flow supplied to the pre-reformer;

nCH 4 - methane molar flow supplied to the pre-reformer.

Jet Pump
Jet Pump is a device which is responsible for pumping anode
gases through pre-reformer, anode and recirculator. Model of jet pump
consists of three parts:

Nozzle
Mixer
Diffuser

Figure 3 Effect of inlet gas pressures on steam

reforming of methane (mass fractions in outlet flow)
SOFC MODEL PARAMETERS
From the point of view of power plant cycle, the most important
values, which should be taken into consideration, are:

The methane is inserted directly to the Nozzle where its pressure

decreases and velocity increases. After that, part of anode gases and
methane from the Nozzle are mixed in the Mixer. The overall velocity
is smaller than methane velocity but larger than anode gases velocity.
Then, the mixture is directed to the Diffuser where its kinetic energy
(velocity) is converted to potential energy (pressure). After that, the
pressure of mixture is higher than the pressure of anode gases before
Jet Pump. The methane, which is supplied from external natural gas
pipeline to the SOFC, has a pressure level of 30 bars from.

s/c ratio
fuel utilization factor
inlet flows
outlet flows

Pre-reformer
Reactions (1) and (2) take place in a pre-reformer.
The Pre-reformer was created with the aid of Plug Flow Reactor,which
is a standard element of HYSYS.Plant environment. All pressure drop
of anode gas was summed and taken into consideration at
Pre-reformer. Internal steam reforming of methane can proceed only in

Copyright 2004 by ASME

STAND-ALONE SOFC POWER PLANT MODEL

CHARACTERISTICS
Typical parameters of stand-alone SOFC power plant system are
presented in Table 1 for one kilogram per second of inlet methane
mass flow.
The air and methane inlet temperature is 25 C; air inlet pressure
ambient.
Table 1 Parameters of the stand-alone SOFC power
plant model
Variable
Value Unit
HHV efficiency

41.5

LHV efficiency

46.1

Inlet methane mass flow 0.001 kg/s

Figure 4 Input and output parameters

SOFC efficiency (HHV) 32.79

0.572

Cell temperature

998.6

SOFC power (DC)

74

Oxidant utilization factor

53

s/c ratio

0.67

Output power

STAND-ALONE SOFC POWER PLANT

For proper work, the SOFC needs other devices, such as
compressor, combustion chamber, gas turbine, heat exchanger etc. All
of them together with the SOFC compose a power plant system.
The SOFC can be placed in a power plant system at various points.
The stand-alone SOFC power plant system is shown in Figure 6.

24.68 kW

Fuel utilization factor

Recirculation ratio

Figure 5 SOFC model in HYSYS.Plant environment

Cell voltage

23.13 kW

All of the following performance characteristics were obtained by

varying only one of SOFC model parameters. This means that the
remaining parameters were constant.
Inlet air temperature

Figure 6 Stand-alone SOFC power plant

Figure 7 Effect of inlet air temperature on the overall
efficiency

Copyright 2004 by ASME

Fuel utilization factor

The fuel utilization factor has large influence on power output
and the efficiency of SOFC power plant. To understand this influence
better, see equations (18).

Figure 8 Effect of inlet air temperature on exhaust

gas temperature
The inlet air temperature has negative effect on the SOFC
efficiency because air is a coolant of fuel cells and additional
compressor power is needed (warm air is more difficult to compress
than cold air).

Figure 11 Effect of fuel utilization factor on the

overall efficiency

Inlet air mass flow

Figure 12 Effect of fuel utilization factor on exhaust

gas temperature

Figure 9 Effect of inlet air mass flow on the overall

efficiency

The fuel utilization factor has large influence on SOFC

parameters. The optimal value of fuel utilization factor is about 75%.

Figure 10 Effect of inlet air mass flow on exhaust

gas temperature
The inlet air mass flow has different influence than the inlet air
temperature. The optimal point, from the efficiency point of view, is
about 28 kg of air per 1 kg of methane. To compare, it could be
mentioned that stoichiometric ratio is about 19 (air mass flow/methane
mass flow) for full methane oxidation.

Copyright 2004 by ASME

S/c ratio
Recirculation of a part of anode gases and steam reforming of
methane give possibility to change some quantity of heat energy to
chemical energy of hydrogen. Finally, the quantity of fuel mass flow
supplied to the anode is greater than that supplied to Jet Pump. The
SOFC unit works at a greater fuel mass flow than taken into
consideration for overall efficiency calculation. For this reason, the
overall power plant efficiency could be higher than the fuel cell
efficiency.

Figure 15 Effect of s/c ratio on exhaust gas

temperature
The important conclusion from the above diagrams is that it is
possible to increase the efficiency by changing s/c ratio only. The s/c
ratio could match a wide range and is limited by Jet Pump parameters
only.

Figure 13 Sankeys diagram of stand-alone SOFC

power plant
For example, for the data from Table 1 the fuel cell efficiency is
about 33 % (HHV) but the overall efficiency is about 42 % (HHV).
For more details, see Figure 13.
This difference depends on the recirculation ratio (separated and
recirculated mass flow from anode outlet/anode inlet mass flow). The
recirculation ratio is adjusted to the assumed s/c ratio and for this
reason s/c ratio has definite influence on the overall efficiency when
the design point is chosen.

CONCLUSIONS
This study has shown the new approach to define maximum
voltage of a cell at the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. Based on this new
equation, selected performance characteristics of stand-alone SOFC
were generated. These data are needed when parameters of the system
at the design point are selected. The most important influences are
characterized by two parameters: s/c ratio and fuel utilization factor.
Searching the design point of the new cycle should be based on
reasonable values of these two parameters. For the SOFC efficiency
reasons, the value of fuel utilization factor should be taken from the
range of 0.7 - 0.9 and the s/c ratio should be as large as possible
(depending on Jet Pump performance). Inlet air parameters at the
design point have smaller effect on the stand-alone SOFC power plant
efficiency.
Internal steam reforming of methane can occur without any
special catalyst at the temperature of inlet gases higher than 300 C.
The stand-alone SOFC power plant can achieve about 46 % LHV
efficiency. Exhaust gases have high temperature (900-1000 C), which
means that the advanced cycle should recovery this amount of heat.
REFERENCES
1.

2.

Figure 14 Effect of s/c ratio on the overall efficiency

3.

4.

Magistri L., Massardo A., Rodgers C., McDonald C.F., 2001, "A
Hybrid System Based on A Personal Turbine (5 Kw) and A SOFC
Stack: A Flexible and High Efficiency Energy Concept For The
Distributed Power Market"; Proceedings of ASME TURBO EXPO
2001; New Orleans
Siemens-Westinghouse Power Corporation, 2001, A High
Efficiency PSOFC/ATS-Gas Turbine Power System Final
Report.
EG&G Services Parsons, Inc. Science Applications International
Corporation, 2002, "Fuel Cell Handbook (Sixth Edition)", U.S.
Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy National Energy
Technology Laboratory.
Milewski, J, 2003, Investigation of SOFC Included Power Plant
Cycles, Ph.D. Thesis, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw,
Poland.

Copyright 2004 by ASME