Dynamic Modeling of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System for Control Design

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) power systems are under active development for a range of applications. Tight thermo-chemical operating constraints together with strong thermal coupling in SOFC systems present significant challenges for system and control design. To facilitate model-based system design addressing steady state and transient performance requirements, first principles based component and system dynamic models are developed for a compact SOFC system. The models are partially validated using some experimental data. The dynamic interactions in the system relevant to fuel cell stack thermal management and system control design are discussed using open-loop model simulations.