Study of thermal imbalances in arrangements of solid oxide fuel cells by mean of bond graph modelling

The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a very promising electricity source, particularly in cogeneration applications. This fuel cell technology is only at the stage of laboratory research which makes experimentation for electrical engineering purposes difficult. In this paper, the authors present a model of a SOFC using bond graphs. This model is used to study the consequences of thermal imbalances within of series or parallel arrangements of SOFCs. It is observed that current or voltage inversions and thermal runaways can occur.