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The effect of mass transfer on electrochemical impedance of a solid oxide fuel cell anode

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Abstract

This paper presents electrochemical impedance simulation of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode in order to investigate the effect of mass transport processes on the impedance spectra. The current model takes in to account the gas-phase transport processes both in the gas channel and within the porous electrode and couples the gas transport processes with the electrochemical kinetics. The impedance simulation is carried out in time domain, and the correlation between the anode harmonic responses to the sinusoidal excitation and the impedance spectra is analyzed. In order to solve the system of non-linear equations, an in-house code based on the finite difference method is developed and utilized. Results show a depressed semicircle in the Nyquist plot, which originates from gas transport processes in the gas channel, in addition to a Warburg diffusion impedance originates from gas transport in the thick porous anode. The influence of parameters such as electrode thickness, inlet gas composition, and temperature is also investigated and the results are discussed. The simulation results are in good agreement with published data.

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Abbreviations

a :

Empirical exponent of the exchange current density

b :

Empirical exponent of the exchange current density

C :

Total molar concentration (mole m−3)

D i,j :

Binary diffusion coefficient between species i and j (m2 s−1)

D i,j eff :

Effective diffusion coefficients (m2 s−1)

D Bi :

Bosanquet diffusion coefficient (m2 s−1)

D Ki :

Knudsen diffusion coefficient (m2 s−1)

E act :

Activation energy of the exchange current density (kJ mol−1)

F :

Faraday’s constant (96,484.56 C mol−1)

f :

Frequency (Hz)

f g1 :

Relaxation frequency of the gas channel-related impedance (Hz)

f g2 :

Relaxation frequency of the porous electrode-related impedance (Hz)

H ch :

Channel height (m)

i :

Current density (A m−2)

i ○ :

Exchange current density (A m−2)

J i :

Diffusive mole flux (mole m−2 s−1)

L :

Cell length (m)

L a :

Anode thickness (m)

M i :

Species molar mass (kg kmol−1)

p in i :

Inlet partial pressure of species (Pa)

p*i :

Partial pressure of reactants and products at the interface of gas channel and electrode (Pa)

p i :

Partial pressure of reactants and products at the reaction sites (Pa)

P ref :

Absolute atmospheric pressure (Pa)

R :

Universal gas constant (8.314 kJ kmol−1K−1)

R g :

Gas transport resistance (ohm m2)

r p :

Average pore radious

S i :

Volume-specific mole exchange rate of species i between channel and porous electrode (mole m−3 s−1)

\( \overset{\cdot }{s_{\mathrm{i}}} \) :

Volumetric species production/consumption rates due to electrochemical reactions (mole m−3 s−1)

T :

Temperature (K)

V cell :

Actual cell voltage (V)

V nernst :

Nernst voltage (reversible open circuit voltage) (V)

V i :

Special Fuller diffusion volume

W :

Unit cell width (m)

W ch :

Channel width (m)

X i :

Species mole fraction

Y :

Complex admittance (ohm−1)

Z :

Complex impedance (ohm)

η conc :

Concentration overvoltage (V)

η act :

Activation overvoltage (V)

η ohm :

Ohmic overvoltage (V)

η anode :

Anode overvoltage (V)

η steady :

Steady-state overvoltage (V)

η excitation :

Excitation amplitude (V)

τ :

Anode tortuosity

θ :

Time period (s)

γ :

Pre-exponential factor of the exchange current density (A m−2)

ε :

Anode porosity

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Iran Renewable Energy Organization (SUNA) throughout this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Arak University, Arak, Iran

    Rafat Mohammadi

  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Majid Ghassemi & Y. Mollayi Barzi

  3. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Space Research Institute, MUT, Tehran, Iran

    Jamasb Pirkandi

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  1. Rafat Mohammadi
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  2. Majid Ghassemi
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  4. Jamasb Pirkandi
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Correspondence to Rafat Mohammadi.

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Mohammadi, R., Ghassemi, M., Barzi, Y.M. et al. The effect of mass transfer on electrochemical impedance of a solid oxide fuel cell anode. J Solid State Electrochem 18, 2815–2827 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-014-2536-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-014-2536-6

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