Validation of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Model on the International Energy Agency Benchmark Case with Hydrogen Fuel

A detailed model of a solid oxide fuel cell was developed with an object‐oriented open‐source computational fluid dynamics code based on a finite‐volume method. The methodology is derived from a local Nernst equation with associated irreversible losses. Calculations were performed with the International Energy Agency benchmark case #1 with hydrogen as fuel, for co‐flow, counter‐flow, and cross‐flow. While agreement with the results of previous workers was satisfactory, a number of shortcomings with the benchmark case were identified and highlighted. These include over‐simplified electro‐chemical kinetics, neglect of porous transport layers, and ambiguities associated with the very low flow rates prescribed for the benchmark case.