Global Journal of Technology and Optimization

Development Of Modeling Tools For Optimal Design, Control And Diagnosis Of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Apus

Abstract

Sorrentino M

The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is nowadays one of the most promising fuel cell technologies, due to a number of positive features, such as high energy conversion efficiency and fuel flexibility. Nevertheless, the actual technological stage pushes the researchers towards the establishment of specific tools and standards to speed-up the transition to SOFC commercialization into a wide application area, ranging from automotive to marine and airplane Auxiliary Power Units (APUs). Particularly in this work, an overview is given on control-oriented modeling of SOFC at both single cell and stack level. Both numerical results and physical considerations, provided throughout the paper, highlight the importance of developing model-based tools for enhancing design phases, as well as the definition of reliable control and diagnostics strategies for SOFC-APUs.