10-Cell direct ammonia solid oxide fuel cell stack design development with improved efficiency and resilience to thermal shock

Hydrogen's potential as a green fuel faces a storage challenge, which has prompted recent studies to explore methods to advance solid and liquid storage, with a particular focus on utilizing ammonia. Employing hydrogen in the form of ammonia has shown considerable promise as it capitalizes on well-established and mature technologies. Nevertheless, establishing effective and resilient direct ammonia Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stacks demands a high degree of congruence with stack design, uniform species distribution, and temperature regulation. This research compared the conventional simple cross flow configuration with a novel approach involving two alternating fuel and air flow configurations within a 10-cell direct ammonia SOFC stack. An experimentally validated model of the direct ammonia SOFC was utilized for multi-physics modeling. The results revealed that the alternating fuel and air stacking method creates a superior ammonia decomposition profile compared to simple cross flow stacking. Moreover, the results demonstrate a lower temperature difference of 55 K within the stack. The implementation of the alternating fuel flow and air flow method enhanced the stack's efficiency by 0.74 %, primarily due to its improved thermal management capabilities within the stack. This study achieved its goal of optimizing a 10-cell direct ammonia SOFC stack by refining the design while maximizing performance and durability.