Experimental evaluation of a solid oxide fuel cell system exposed to inclinations and accelerations by ship motions
B.N. van Veldhuizen (TU Delft - Ship Design, Production and Operations)
E. Zera (SolydEra S.p.A.)
Lindert van Biert (TU Delft - Ship Design, Production and Operations)
S. Modena (SolydEra S.p.A.)
K. Visser (TU Delft - Ship Design, Production and Operations)
P. V. Purushothaman Vellayani (TU Delft - Energy Technology, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) systems have the potential to reduce emissions from seagoing vessels. However, it is unknown whether ship motions influence the system's operation. In this research, a 1.5 kW SOFC module is operated on an inclination platform that emulates ship motions, to evaluate the influence of static and dynamic inclinations on the system's safety, operation, and lifetime. The test campaign consists of a static inclination test, a dynamic test, a degradation test, and a high acceleration test. There were no interruptions in the power supply during the different tests, and no detectable gas leakages or safety hazards. Although the SOFC does not fail in any test condition, dynamic inclinations result in forced oscillations in the fuel regulation, which propagate through the system by different feedback loops in the control architecture, leading to significant deviations in the operational parameters of the system. Additionally, for motion periods from 16 to 26 s, reoccurring exceedance of the fuel utilisation results in a gradual reduction of the power supply. Several enhancements are recommended to improve the design of SOFCs and marine fuel cell regulations to ensure their safe operation on ships.
help_outline