Micro-tubular SOFCs to Measure the Effects of Cross Flow on Mass Transfer Rates Around the Perimeter of a Cylindrical Electrode

Micro-Tubular-Solid-Oxide-Fuel-Cells (MT-SOFCs) are primarily being developed to be used as electricity producing devices. However, they are also an ideal tool for investigating the effects of gas cross flows, with various Reynolds numbers and specie concentrations, on the mass transfer rates around the perimeter of a high temperature cylindrical electrode. The SOFC research group at the Upper Austrian University of Applied Sciences in Wels and partners are currently developing multi-cathode and multi-cell methods to measure the concentration of oxygen around the perimeter of these active electrodes. This paper will introduce the reader to computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation results that have been used to design an experimental apparatus and some novel MT-SOFC innovations that will be used in the very near future to make experimental measurements to validate the shown CFD simulation results for oxygen concentration around the perimeter of a cylindrical electrode in cross-flow.