Effects of cell aspect ratio and geometric orientation on perfo 2027 Applied

Geometric orientation is an overlooked design factor in cross-flow planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). A three-dimensional multiphysics model was developed to evaluate the effects of cell aspect ratio and orientation on electrochemical performance, current-density uniformity, flow resistance, and thermal behavior. Five geometries with comparable active areas (~5500 mm²) and aspect ratios of 1.00 – 2.20 were evaluated at cathode air flow rates of 900 – 2700 sccm. At 0.7 V and 1800 sccm, orientation caused up to 24.04% variation in average current density. Rotating the 62 × 98 mm² cell to 98 × 62 mm² increased the average current density by 15.81% (4612 to 5341 A m⁻²), whereas rotating the 50 × 110 mm² cell to 110 × 50 mm² reduced it by 24.04% (5138 to 3903 A m⁻²). The 98 × 62 mm² cell achieved the highest Mean score 1 (1.000) but also the highest maximum temperature (1125.29 K), while the 62 × 98 mm² cell achieved the highest Mean score 2 (0.815). The 50 × 110 mm² cell had the lowest current-density coefficient of variation (0.421) but the largest pressure drop (89.05 Pa). These results reveal trade-offs among electrochemical output, current-density uniformity, fuel utilization, pressure drop, and thermal reliability.