Influence of graded metal foam flow channel on electrolytic performance of solid oxide electrolysis cell

Abstract

In the solid oxide electrolytic cell, the distribution of water vapor concentration is usually uneven, so the design of the flow field structure is of great significance. In this study, we introduce two kinds of metal foams with different porosity gradients as the cathode flow channel of the electrolytic cell. Through numerical simulation the polarization curve, water vapor conversion rate, water vapor non-uniformity coefficient and temperature difference results are evaluated and analyzed, and it is found that the specific porosity gradient in the metal foam flow field has a positive effect on the performance of the electrolytic cell. At a current density of 8000 A/m², the electrolyzer with negative porosity gradient demonstrates a 17.66 % higher steam conversion rate and 6.37 % lower local non-uniformity coefficient compared to the uniform porosity gradient design.