Experiment and numerical simulation on the performance of a kW-scale molten carbonate fuel cell stack

A high-temperature molten carbonate fuel cell stack was Studied experimentally and computationally. Experimental data for fuel cell temperature was obtained when the stack was running under given operational conditions. A 3-D CFD numerical model was set Lip and used to simulate the central fuel cell in the stack. It includes the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations, the ideal gas law and all empirical equation lot- cell voltage. The model was used to simulate the transient behavior of the fuel cell under the same operational conditions as those of the experiment. Simulation results show that the transient temperature and current and power densities reach their maximal values at the channel outlet. A comparison of the modeling results and the experimental data shows the good agreement.