DEVELOPMENT OF ACCELERATED DURABILITY PROTOCOLS FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL SYSTEMS

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)-based auxiliary power units (APUs) offer a quiet and efficient platform for remote power generation. SOFC systems often utilize a reformer subsystem which converts hydrocarbon fuels into a hydrogen-rich effluent stream utilized by the fuel cell stack for electrical power generation. Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Sustainable Mobility (RIT / CSM) has conducted research to analyze potential system failures and develop accelerated durability protocols for SOFC systems. Based on this experimental and analytical study, it has been shown that solid carbon formed during fuel reformation is quantifiable, predictable, and affects SOFC system durability.

RIT / CSM further developed accelerated durability protocols for SOFC carbon related failure modes, utilizing carbon concentration measurements from SOFC systems combined with post-processing of system operational parameters. Fully integrated SOFC systems were employed to generate a concentration of carbon over various usage profiles, with carbon measured using a real-time photo-acoustic instrument. Additional system parameters, including temperature, pressure, reformer effluent composition, and reactant mass flows were also measured on full SOFC systems to determine the total carbon mass in the effluent stream. This research has demonstrated that application of accelerated thermal cycles significantly accelerates the mass of carbon formed during reformate production relative to nominal SOFC operating conditions.