Fluid-Dynamic Characterisation of MCFC Gas Distributors.

Abstract Previous studies at the plant scale have shown that thermal management is a crucial point in molten carbonate fuel cell operation optimisation. At the local scale, the principal mechanisms controlling the temperature map on the cell plane have been analysed and it has been shown that the fluid dynamics of the anodic and cathodic gases on the cell could have a fundamental role in thermal optimisation. So, the authors have analysed the gas flow in planner cells, using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique and identifying the characteristic fluid-dynamic parameters. The studied structure consists of a typical current collector/gas distributor formed by a plurality of arches with suitable height to provide sufficient reactant flow area, proper stiffness to accept compressive load and adequate resiliently to distribute the load and maintain electrical contact. The results of this analysis are presented and discussed in this paper, while the modelling approach is presented as a useful tool for improving the current collector/gas distributor design, identifying new technological solutions and optimising MCFC performance.