i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8

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Review

A Review on solid oxide fuel cell models

K. Wang a,*, D. Hissel a, M.C. Péra a, N. Steiner b, D. Marra c, M. Sorrentino c, C. Pianese c,

M. Monteverde d, P. Cardone d, J. Saarinen e
a
University of Franche-Comté, FEMTO-ST (UMR CNRS 6174), FCLAB, 90000 Belfort, France
b
EIFER, European Institute For Energy Research, Emmy-Noether Strasse 11, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
c
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
d
Faculty of Engineering, University of Genoa, 16145 Genoa, Italy
e
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Biologinkuja, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland

article info abstract

Article history: Since the model plays an important role in diagnosing solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system,
Received 10 December 2010 this paper proposes a review of existing SOFC models for model-based diagnosis of SOFC
Received in revised form stack and system. Three categories of modelling based on the white-, the black- and the
6 March 2011 grey-box approaches are introduced. The white-box model includes two types, i.e. physical
Accepted 10 March 2011 model and equivalent circuit model based on EIS technique. The black-box model is based
Available online 13 April 2011 on artificial intelligence and its realisation relies mainly on experimental data. The grey-
box model is more flexible: it is a physical representation but with some parts being
Keywords: modelled empirically. Validation of models is discussed and a hierarchical modelling
SOFC approach involving all of three modelling methods is briefly mentioned, which gives an
Modelling overview of the design for implementing a generic diagnostic tool on SOFC system.
Artificial intelligent Copyright ª 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights
Neural network reserved.
Electrochemical impedance
spectroscopy
Model-based diagnosis

1. Introduction cells at altitude, the hybrid SOFC/gas turbine cycle is

Fuel cell systems are considered as an alternative to
conventional fuel combustion power generation, thanks to
their lower emissions and higher efficiency. Amongst various
types of fuel cell, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) at high
temperature operation allows systems design that well uses
the fuel cell thermal output, which leads to higher system
efficiency than other fuel cell systems such as comparable
proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems [1]. Due
to the importance of efficiency and the need to operate fuel
a potentially attractive option for applications of auxiliary
power unit ofaircraft [1,2] and vehicle as well as for industrial
power supply, in stationary and even non-stationary elec-
tricity generation applications [3,4]. Besides, SOFCs possess
other advantages, i.e.
1. Due to its high temperature operating condition, internal
reforming (IR) can be realised;
2. Its insensitivity to gas contaminants enables utilisation of
unconventional fuels such as biomass or coal gas;

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kun.wang@utbm.fr (K. Wang).
0360-3199/$ e see front matter Copyright ª 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.03.051
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Additionally, developers expect commercial SOFCs to have
lifetimes of 10e20 years, two to four times longer than other
fuel cells [5]. However, the capabilities of IR and gas insensi-
tivity lead to more complex electrochemical reactions inside
SOFCs. Moreover, carbon formation thermodynamically can
take place on the anode material in hydrocarbon-fuelled case.
These disadvantages can make SOFC system suffer from a low
reliability. In order to avoid catastrophic system failures, an
online diagnostic tool for assessing and tracking the state of
health of SOFC stack or/and system is very necessary.
Nowadays, the diagnosis technique mainly relies on model-
based method [6], by analysing the residuals/deviations of the
measured system response from the simulated one by model
[7]. Following this diagnostic concept, a reliable and general
model which is capable of predicting the normal performance
of SOFC is required.
In the past decades, a great number of researchers had
investigated in SOFC modelling and the internal process
simulation based on physical principles. By using physical and
analytical equations, they translated successfully the elec-
trochemical reactions, the electronic and ionic properties of
materials as well as gas flow process to detailed physical
models. These models range from zero-dimensional (0-D) to
three-dimensional (3-D) with different features and point to
different research objectives. From the viewpoint of model
function, 2-D and 3-D modelling is typically concerned with
the cell and stack design issues while 0-D and 1-D modelling is
aimed at control purposes (on system-level) such as predic-
tion of both the transient and steady-state performance of
fuel cell/stack and establishing the optimal operating condi-
tions [5]. For the research target of setting up an online diag-
nostic tool, low dimensional models (0- and 1-D) are more
appropriate due to the less computational time in comparison
with the high dimensional ones (2- and 3-D). Moreover, high
dimensional models require information about material
properties or electrochemical parameters that are not always
available or might be difficult to determine. Even so, high
dimensional models are still helpful to learn the operation
behaviour of fuel cells of different geometry design and very
useful for creating training data for black-box modelling
which will be introduced in the fifth section.
Another method is AC impendence modelling. It is based
on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measure-
ments. The electrochemical information on an operating fuel
cell system can be obtained from the measured EIS data and
interpreted by fitting this data to an impedance model.
Recently, specific applications of EIS in SOFCs have appeared
frequently in the literature. The obtained results demonstrate
that this technique is an effective modelling approach. It is
worth noting that EIS is a tool used to acquire electro-
chemical parameters. It is also known as AC impedance
technique. When a perturbation signal (voltage or current) is
imposed on a SOFC, a corresponding output signal (current or
voltage) can be obtained. This signal is the reaction of the
SOFC to the perturbation. Comparing these two signals can
give a characteristic impedance Z(u). In EIS measurement,
a series of Z(u) in various frequencies are collected. They are
supposed to exhibit the SOFC characteristics and should give
information on physical behaviours inside the operating
fuel cell.
7213
In fact, both physical and equivalent circuit fuel cell
models are mainly based on the knowledge of physicochem-
ical characteristics (electrically, chemically and kinemati-
cally), thus also called as “white” models. They presents a high
generalisability level that enables modelling SOFC stacks of
different geometric features, but require a high computational
effort. In contrast, there is another approach only based on
experimental database (no requirement for any physical
property), known as the black-box modelling. Black-box
models are developed particularly for control-oriented appli-
cations, i.e. system monitoring, online control and diagnosis.
This approach is appropriate for complex fuel cell system.
Nevertheless, the high dependency upon experimental data
makes it less generalisable and the fourth approach is thus
developed. It falls in between white and black-box
approaches, named grey-box modelling. Models based on this
method are partially physical and partially empirical.
In the following 4 sections (from the 2nd to the 5th section),
four modelling approaches for SOFC will be introduced by
presenting the models available in literature. It is worth
noting that all models reviewed in this paper are with the aim
of proposing a state-of-the-art of existing models which may
be useful for model-based SOFC system diagnosis. In addition,
whichever modelling approach to be used, it should be kept in
mind that since phenomena occurring in nature are too
complex to be completely described by mathematical equa-
tions, the required details to be described by the model must
be goal-driven, i.e. the complexity of the model, and the
related results, must be strictly connected to the main goal of
the analysis itself [8]. In the 6th section, the functions of the
reviewed models have been summed up and their application
on SOFC stack and system diagnosis is proposed. The valida-
tion of models is discussed, too.
2. Physical models
A great number of papers can be found on SOFC physical
modelling. Some were aimed at cell design modification or
material development. In this case, the models involve
simulations for the temperature distribution, the heat gener-
ation, and the flow diffusion. Others focus on predicting cell
performance which is expressed either in term of output
current density at fixed potential or in term of potential at
given applied current. Research objective determines the
complexity and the dimension of model [9,10]. In this paper,
the focus is put on general models which depict cell perfor-
mance for system analysis. The physical models covered in
this section are classified into 4 categories on the basis of
model dimensionality and will be introduced in the order of
dimension decreasing from 3-D to 0-D.
Multi-dimensional (MD) models are set up in the consid-
eration of spatial variation in the physical and chemical
variables such as gas concentration, temperature, pressure
and current density, for example [8]. In this review, the
covered MD models have an identical assumption that the
stack is made of repeating single cells stacked together thus
a single cell is simulated and its outcome is multiplied by the
number of cells to obtain stack results. Such a cell model
usually consists of three sub-models, i.e. thermal model, fluid
7214 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
model and electrochemical model. The former two (combined
together as a thermo-fluid model in some literature) are used
for the evaluation of temperature profile and molar flux of one
or more dimensions inside the fuel cell: the first calculates
temperatures of each component (electrodes and electrolyte);
the second calculates gas flow rates as well as their partial
pressures at each electrode. The third is an electrical model
for predicting cell voltage. It is based on the following relation
at a given current density:
Ucell ¼ Uocv  ðiR þ hact þ hconc Þ
where Ucell is the cell voltage, Uocv is the open circuit voltage
(OCV), iR is the ohmic drop (or the ohmic polarisation) and
hx are the activation and concentration polarisations. The
three polarisations contribute to irreversible losses in an
operating fuel cell. The OCV equals theoretically to the Nernst
potential, related with the local temperature and gas partial
pressures. However, in practise, it deviates from this ideal
value during cell operation due to concentration drop of
reactants. For an overall cell reaction, the cell potential
increases with an increase in the activity (concentration) of
reactants and a decrease in the activity of products [11].
Zero-dimensional (ZD) models are often used when fuel
cell is regarded as a single component of a bigger system, for
capturing the general operating behaviour/performance of
fuel cell and meeting the requirement of fast computation.
When the main purpose of this type of model is to analyse the
whole system, the physical-chemical variables variations are
not relevant, however, the performances, in terms of power,
heat and input requirements are important [12]. Therefore,
spatial variation of the parameters considered in MD models
can be not taken into account in ZD ones.
2.1. 3-D models
In a SOFC system, the fuel utilisation and the average cell
temperature can be controlled by the delivery rate and the
temperature of the gases into the cell. If the fuel concentration
is high at a cell area, the local electrochemical reaction is
active, leading to increased local temperatures and thereby
yielding faster reaction rate; in reverse, for a case of fuel
depletion, the reaction is inactive, thus a decreased local
temperature and a slower reaction rate [13]. Although
increased fuel flow tends to increase uniformity of the reac-
tion rates across the active area, it decreases fuel utilisation
[13]. Therefore, management of the flow and the inlet
temperature of gases is critical to stable cell operation. A 3-D
model allows simulating fuel cell internal behaviours and
giving information about the temperature and the fuel
distributions on three physical dimensions. The finite-volume
method is usually employed to separate a unit cell into several
parts and thus to simplify the calculation.
Ferguson et al. (1996) [14] presented a 3-D SOFC model which
could predict the voltage, the mass and electrical distribution
at cell-level. The heat source consisted of two terms, i.e. the
ohmic heat and the heat from shift and reforming reactants.
Since discontinuities of the potential and heat flux at the
electrode/electrolyte interfaces exist due to the surface elec-
trochemical reactions, the heat and mass transfer between gas
channels and solid parts were taken into account. A potential
drop at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces due to electro-
chemical reactions was considered. The potential at solid parts
was equal to Nernst potential. Faraday’s law depicts the
correlation between the electric current and the mass flux at
these interfaces. This model could be used as a design tool to
analyse the cell efficiency in different geometries (tubular and
planar) and configurations (co-, counter-flow and cross-flow
designs for a planar geometry). According to the analysis of
Ferguson et al., the counter-flow design was considered to be
(1)
the most efficient for planer geometry which showed less
ohmic loss in comparisons with the tubular geometry.
However, the effect of radiation was not considered in the
model.
Yakabe et al. (2001) [15] took into account the radiation
mechanism which was regarded as an essential effect on the
heat exchange inside the channels while the stack operating
at 900e1000  C. At such high temperatures, the excess thermal
stress would lead to the non-homogeneous temperature
distributions and the mismatch on cell components due to the
different thermal expansion coefficients. Therefore, the con-
ducted model in [15] was used to estimate the thermal
stresses in the cell components, so as to optimise operating
conditions to decrease the temperature gradients of PEN
(positive-electrolyte-negative). Paying attention on electrical
performance simulation, in the electrochemical model, the
concentration polarisation was included in the Nernst
potential; the activation polarisation was divided into
a constant term and a current-dependent term. The later was
integrated into a formula of ohmic resistance. The cell resis-
tance, with the contact resistances included, was estimated
from the experimentally measured IeV data of a unit cell. The
electric current density was expressed by the Faraday’s law
like in [14]. This model is applicable for SOFCs of counter- and
co-flow geometries.
Recknagle et al. (2003) [13] proposed a 3-D model for planar
SOFC, aiming at investigating the effects of cell flow configu-
ration on the distribution of temperature, current density and
fuel distribution. The model can predict the fuel utilisation,
the electric current density, and the temperature distribution.
In the thermal model, the radiant heat exchange was small
and neglected due to the large aspect ratios of the flow
channels in the studied stack (length-to-height, roughly 100:1
on the cathode side and 200:1 on the anode side). The elec-
trochemical model could predict local electrical responses to
changes in fuel flow rate, local fuel composition, and local
temperature. Three geometric configurations were examined
on the model and it was concluded that the co-flow case had
the most uniform temperature distribution and the smallest
thermal gradients. The same investigation was performed by
Wang et al. (2007) [16] and the relevant modelling equations
can be found in [16].
2.2. 2-D models
The 2-D model is simplified one from the 3-D model by
neglecting one dimension. It prompts to some assumptions
and simplifications, causing a reduction in the resulting
information [17]. There are two ways for choosing a 2-D
section and they are shown in the following figure (see Fig. 1).
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Fig. 1 e 2-D cross-sections representation of an SOFC unit.
The first case takes the x-z plane, assuming that all
parameters (such as the temperature, the gases concentra-
tions and pressures, etc) are uniform in y direction. In the
second case, the current collectors are separated from PEN by
gas channels; thereby, the electrical potential on electrode
boundary is not constant. The ohmic resistance variation
along the neglected  direction needs to be taken into account
in the model formulation [17].
Xue et al. (2005) [18] developed a dynamic quasi-2D model
for a tubular counter-flow SOFC. It was capable of character-
ising the transient/time- and spatial-dependent properties of
critical state variables. The studied section belonged to the
second case and was separated, by applying the control
volume (CV) method, into four CVs, i.e. anode channel, cell,
cathode channel and thermal insulator. the section. Physical
properties, within each CV, were assumed to be uniform, but
they changed in different CVs. The mass/species balance
equation was used to describe the mass/species conservation
in each CV. The momentum effect on the main flow stream
caused by electrochemical reaction was neglected. The radi-
ation heat transfer between the gas CVs (anode and cathode
channel) and the solid CVs (cell and thermal insulator) was
not considered but that between the cell CV and its adjacent
thermal insulator CV was taken into account in the thermal
model. As considering the case that the external load potential
was higher than the cell Nernst potential, the fuel cell in this
research was regarded as a combination of a Nernst potential
source and a capacitor as shown in Fig. 2. Moreover, the three
polarisation resistances were calculated based on the instant
conditions. As a result, a dynamic model of a tubular SOFC
was implemented and it was useful for studying both the
steady-state and the transient cell behaviours. It concluded
that this model could be used in system optimisation and
dynamic controlling.
In [19], a model-based study focused on transient operation
was carried out based on a dynamic 2-D model. The possibility
for improving the cell/stack performance by proper gas flow
configuration was confirmed. The possible degradation effects
due to increased thermal stresses were pointed out in the
7215
Fig. 2 e SOFC equivalent circuit [18].
study. The model was validated against empirical data as well
as another 1-D model in [20]. Furthermore, the transient
behaviour of this model was compared against that of another
two-dimensional dynamic model with tubular cell configura-
tion in [21] and the planar stack configuration was found to
adapt faster to the operating condition changes.
Chnani (2007) [23,22] also took the second case for model-
ling a planar SOFC with co-flow channels. He developed the
thermal and the fluidic sub-models through electrical
analogy. This method allowed exhibiting gas flows and ther-
modynamic behaviours in term of equivalent circuit so that
multiple identical models could be connected together to be
a stack-level model. For a stack module, therefore, this
advantage is obvious: the thermal circuit can describe
temperature gradient along cells. Fig. 3 shows the schematic
diagram for overall cell modelling. The transient thermal
model was used to compute the solid and the gas tempera-
tures. The fluidic model calculated the partial pressures of
chemical species. The electric (electrochemical) model
computed the stack voltage and the polarisations with the
parameters from these two sub-models.
In thermal behaviour modelling [23], the cell was firstly
divided into 7 isothermal volumes (as shown in Fig. 4),
including anode interconnect, anode channel, electrolyte/
anode interface, electrolyte, electrolyte/cathode interface,
cathode channel and cathode interconnect. Fig. 5 shows the
2-D thermal equivalent circuits for each volume. They were
connected by temperature nodes to be a nodal network. In
order to capture thermodynamic behaviours inside the cell,
both heat generation and heat transfer were considered. The
former referred to chemical reactions and ohmic losses; it was
represented by thermal source symbols. The later was due to
three fundamental heat transfer mechanisms (convection,
conduction and thermal radiation) as well as mass transfer
(heated gas transportation in channels); these four mecha-
nisms were expressed by temperature drops on the corre-
sponding thermal resistances (Rx_conv, Rx_cond, Rx_ray and Rin/out_x
illustrated respectively by blue, green, red and black resis-
tance symbols in Fig. 5). The heat capacities at particular
nodes indicated thermal energy stored between and inside
volumes. In this model, the heat source of chemical reaction is
only located at the interface anode/electrolyte.
For the fluidic model, an equivalent circuit based on the
electric fluid analogy (as shown in Fig. 6) was built to depict
the fluidic behaviour in gas channels. The gas flow was
homologous to the electrical current while the pressure to the
7216 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8

Fig. 3 e Schematic of stack modelling [22].

voltage. The fluidic resistance was regarded as the electrical
resistance. It was considered that the pressure drop between
the air and the fuel sides was linear with the gas flow rate.
In the electric model, three modes of polarisation were
considered but the resistance of contact was ignored due to its
little contribution to the ohmic resistance, when compared
with the electrolyte resistance. Finally, a group of the cell-level
model could be easily connected in parallel or in series to
obtain a stack-level model.
2.3. 1-D models
In 1-D model, the fuel cell is usually treated as a set of layers
including interconnects, air channel, electrodes, electrolyte
and fuel channel [8], just like the case shown in Fig. 4 but
neglecting physical variations at vertical axis. Both gas
composition and flow rate in each channel are assumed to be
constant and their mean values are used in the simulation. For
planar SOFC, the dimension is following along the gas channel
and the direction is determined by the gas flow. It is necessary
to note that the fuel cell of cross-flow design cannot be
simulated by 1-D models. For tubular SOFC, the kept dimen-
sion is usually the tube axis which coincides with the direc-
tion of the fuel and oxidant flow [17].
Magistri et al. (2004) [24] built a one-dimensional model for
tubular SOFC, where the cell coordinate x is the axis of the tube
and its origin corresponds to the bottom of the cell. The main
hypotheses of the single cell model are: 1) the cell is adiabatic, 2)
the cell voltage is uniform and all the chemical reactions within
the anodic stream are at equilibrium, 3) the electrochemical
reaction of H2 is taken into consideration; the electrochemical
reaction with CO is neglected. The cell model includes: electro-
chemical performance, equilibrium of reforming and shifting
chemical reactions, mass balances of anodic and cathodic,
energy balances of gaseous flows, energy balance of the tube
and of the solid PEN structure. In the paper, the 1-D model was

Fig. 4 e Heat transfer and heat sources in 7 volumes [22].

 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Fig. 5 e Cell-level thermal model [23].
described and the results were compared to the 0-D model
simulation proposed in [25]. In both two models, the input data
are geometrical characteristics, operating conditions, inlet flow
conditions and gas and material properties. The 1-D model
represented the cells as a plug-flow reactor, so it integrated
along the cell coordinate the values of the operating. The 0-D
model considered the tubular cell as a continuous stirred-tank
Fig. 6 e Electrode fluidic model [22].
7217
reactor; and the thermodynamic and electrochemical parame-
ters were thus uniform along the cell coordinate. Both the
models were integrated through a relaxation method for the
evaluation of the cell performance and were included into
a whole system model. The model comparison showed how
discriminating the simulation accuracy could be in studied
cases. Under some operating condition, it was possible that not
great difference was there between the average simulation
results from the detailed and the simplified SOFC models; at
a first glance, the results seemed reasonable and compatible
with the technological limits of the components of the hybrid
system. But a deep analysis of the results from the detailed
model revealed that the temperature inside the stack was not
uniform and, although the average value was acceptable, the
maximum values were too high. The comparison of two
different SOFC models is very important for investigating how
the study of the whole system is affected by the approximations
of SOFC models. Indeed, detailed fuel cell models require a long
7218 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
computational time and knowledge about geometrical data,
materials and lay out of the fuel cell, which are rarely available.
For these reasons, simplified fuel cell models are generally used
in HS simulations, but in this way critical aspect such as hot spot
temperature of the SOFC cannot be investigated, and the
calculation could give results very different from the real
performance of the fuel cell and whole system. On the other
hand, there are several cases where the results of the two types
of simulation coincide, and it is difficult to have information
a priori on the range of operating conditions where this occurs.
In [26,27], a so-called dynamic behaviour model of an SOFC
was developed and verified. The model was capable of solving
the I-V-behaviour and the temperature distribution in the gas
flow direction inside a cell operating under either co- or
counter-flow mode and it was found to be sufficiently accu-
rate for rapid system simulation [28]. The model enabled, e.g.,
designing the gas flow rates accordingly in respect to the
maximum drawn current density and, thereby, to prevent
overheating of cell.
Aguiar et al. (2004) [29] developed a 1-D dynamic anode-
supported intermediate temperature planar SOFC with direct
internal reforming. This model predicted the SOFC charac-
teristics both in the steady and the transient states. It con-
sisted of mass and energy balances, and an electrochemical
model. For the mass balance the molar flux in the gas chan-
nels was considered convective in the flow direction. It was
assumed that only hydrogen was electrochemically oxidised
and that all of CO was converted through the shift reaction,
considered to be at equilibrium. In the fuel channel, three
reactions are taken into account: 1) methane steam reforming;
2) water gas-shift; 3) and hydrogen electrochemical oxidation.
In the air channel, only the reduction reaction of O2 was
considered. Faraday’s law related the flux of reactants and
products to the electric current arising from an electro-
chemical reaction. In the energy balance were included the
released heat from electrochemical reactions and ohmic los-
ses; the convective heat transfer between cell components
and gas streams; and the in-plane heat conduction through
cell components. The thermal fluxes were supposed to be
conductive and radiate between the PEN and the interconnect
components. However, in the gas channels, they were
assumed to be convective in the gas flow direction and from
the gas channels to the solid parts. In the electrochemical
model the OCV was calculated by the Nernst equation and the
SOFC stack was considered isopotential.
Costamagna et al. (2004) [31] studied an innovative fuel cell
concept, the Integrated Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (IP-SOFC)
which was substantially a cross between tubular and planar
geometries, seeking to borrow thermal compliance properties
from the former and low cost component fabrication and
short current paths from the latter. In this new concept,
several cells of small dimension were deposited over a vertical
porous substrate and electrically connected in series, in order
to obtain high voltages and low electrical currents. The scope
of IP-SOFC modelling was multi-fold: to better understand the
physical-chemical phenomena occurring in the electrodes, in
the fuel cell and in the stack, to predict the local behaviour of
the cell and to identify dangerous effects (for example, hot
spots) which might lead to damage. This model could serve as
the basis for planning experimental campaigns and provide
a useful tool for optimisation of fuel cell systems, in aspects of
both operating conditions and design parameters. The model
involved different levels of simulation: electrode, single cell,
tube, bundle, stack and block. At the electrode level, the main
phenomena taken into account were the electrochemical
reaction, the charge conduction and the mass transfer. At the
tube and bundle level, the models included the mass balances
of the gaseous streams and energy balances of the gaseous
streams and of the solid.
Jiang et al. (2006) [30] set up a 1-D dynamic model for
a tubular SOFC with external reforming. The cell was divided
into elements along the flow direction, like shown in Fig. 7. For
each element, there were 4 CVs separated along perpendicular
axis (see Fig. 8): the fuel, the solid, the reaction air and the pre-
heated air CVs. Several assumptions were made for the
thermal model: 1) for every element, the temperature within
each CV was uniform; 2) the radiation and the conduction
heat transfer were not taken into account; 3) the convection
heat transfer was assumed as the only reason for the
temperature gradient of gas streams in the flow. The heat
generation due to the reactions (shifting, reforming and
electrochemical) and the ohmic losses was calculated. The cell
voltage at each element was uniform. An equivalent circuit
(see Fig. 9) was built to evaluate the influence of the current
path length to the ohmic loss. This model was capable of
predicting SOFC characteristics in both the steady and the
transient states and showed a good reliability. Results from
the model showed that elevated pressure could improve the
cell performance whereas higher operating temperature
decreased both the Nernst potential and the irreversible losses
(ohmic, activation and concentration losses).
Zhang et al. (2006) [32] developed a 1-D non-linear, control-
oriented dynamic model for planar SOFC. Two kinds of fitting
function, namely the exponent decay function and the expo-
nent associate function were introduced to fit the distribution
characteristics of the gaseous molar fractions and the
temperature along the streamwise direction. The spatial
effect was lumped into the dynamic model by fitting the three
parameters of the used function. These parameters were
determined through numerical simulations.
Sorrentino (2006) [33] developed a 1-D steady-state model
for co-flow planar SOFC. The model was divided into three
sub-models: 1) mass balance model; 2) energy balance model;
3) voltage model. The model was based on the control volume
(CV) approach, according to which the cell was discredited in
CVs in the flow direction and divided into three layers: anode
channel, cathode channel and cell (solid layer). The cell was
assumed to be isopotential and the pressure drop across the
fuel and air channels was neglected. The radiant heat transfer
Fig. 7 e Schematic of gas flows in a tubular SOFC [30].
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Fig. 8 e Control volume definitions for one element [30].
and the heat conduction in the solid layer were neglected. The
stack was assumed to be adiabatic. The heat convection
between solid layer and gas streams and the energy transfer
due to the reactants and products were considered dominant
in the energy balance. The model showed a good accuracy in
the simulation of SOFC states and variables. It was adopted to
generate SOFC stack data to be used in a hierarchic modelling
approach to implement a control-oriented model [34].
Cheddie et al. (2007) [35] upgraded a 0-D real time model to
a dynamic 1-D model in order to predict more accurately the
temperature and pressure variations along the gas flow
direction. The real time capability was maintained by setting
up several simplifications: the current density distribution
was considered uniform and there was no need of calculating
the cell current iteratively, therefore resulting in reduction of
computational effort. The overpotentials at each node were
replaced by the average one across the cell. It was assumed
that the voltage immediately responded to changes in current
so the transient states were not taken into account. The gas
concentration was considered dependent only on partial
pressure rather than both pressure and temperature. In
thermal model, all heat generations were assumed to occur in
Fig. 9 e Equivalent circuit for the tubular SOFC cross [30].
7219
the PEN. The heat conduction was negligible in the fluid phase
due to the fact that the thermal conductivity is much higher in
the solid regions than in the fluid phases. The 1-D model with
21 nodes was proven to require 3.8 ms of computational time
for each iteration. The model validation showed that the
limiting assumptions did not lead to the significant simulating
difference when comparing with a more comprehensive 1-D
model without these assumptions. Moreover, the proposed
model was capable of predicting more accurately the trans-
port phenomena.
Kang et al. (2009) [36] modified a 1-D dynamic model for
a planar internal reforming SOFC also by integrating two
simplifications: 1) the PEN, interconnects and gas channels
were integrated together along the perpendicular direction,
that is, the SOFC is considered to have only one temperature
layer; 2) the current density distribution is considered to be
uniform within the SOFC, and the cell voltage is determined
by the average gas molar fractions and cell temperature.
These two simplifications are similar to the assumptions in
Cheddie’s modelling. In fact, by introducing them, the SOFC
model was greatly simplified in form. This model contained
100 nodes and its computational time was decreased
comparing with the lumped one. Moreover, it showed an
improvement with regard to accuracy because it took into
account the spatially distributed nature of SOFCs to a certain
extent.
2.4. 0-D models
The 0-D model is the simplest one. No dimension is deter-
mined; and thereby spatial variations are not taken into
account. The transformations are considered to define output
variables from input ones. 0-D models are simplified based on
assumptions and practical information. They can be used for
numerical analysis of fuel cells in energy systems such as
SOFC/gas turbine hybrid system. In such a system, the single
elements, for instance, compressors, heat exchangers, fuel
reformer, partial oxidisers, and contaminant removal appa-
ratus are simulated through independent box models [17].
Furthermore, they allow being easily calibrated and modified
for new developed materials.
Costamagna et al. (2000) [25] described a hybrid system
where the SOFC was simulated with the 0-D model approach.
The balance equations were written as macroscopic balances,
in form of finite equations. Those equations expressed
a balance between inlet and outlet flows of mass and energy in
each component of the group; under suitable assumptions,
they allowed the evaluation of the average values of the
physical-chemical variables of each components and the
electrochemical performance of the group itself.
In Campanari’s 0-D SOFC model (2001) [37], the cell voltage
was a function of the current density, the operating temper-
ature and pressure as well as the reactants and product
composition. Bove et al. (2005) [12] built a macro model in
which the ohmic polarisation depended only upon the mate-
rial properties. The open circuit voltage and the activation
polarisation were related to gas concentration while the
concentration polarisation was ignored. The mean current
density was regarded as an input variable. Three different
modes of gas composition, i.e., inlet gases composition, outlet
7220 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
gases composition and a mean value between the previous
two, were respectively used in the simulation for estimating
the cell voltage. The simulated results showed that if the first
mode was considered, the effect of fuel utilisation variation
could not be estimated; on the contrary, the cell voltage might
be underestimated if with the second mode. Therefore, as
a conclusion, the third mode seemed as the best, which could
get a compromise between these two aspects.
Magistri, Ferrari et al. [38e40] made a transient analysis of
hybrid system based on SOFC. This system was mainly
composed of three parts: the stack, the anodic recirculation
system with fuel feeding and the cathodic side (air side) where
turbo-machinery and heat exchangers were installed. These
transient researches allowed a deep investigation of the Fuel
Cell Stack complete with reformer and post-combustor
models. In this way it was possible to define the start-up and
shut-down procedures, avoiding risks for the whole plant. The
tubular SOFC was considered as a stand-alone unit in order to
understand its behaviour without taking into account the
influence of the other components of the plant. This model
was developed in the MATLAB-Simulink environment with
the TRANSEO [41] tool and was successfully verified at design
and off-design conditions. Moreover a special time charac-
terisation of the transient phenomena was introduced in
order to automatically suggest to the user the proper inte-
gration time step (Dt) to employ. Analysing the results of the
model, they observed, during transients condition, unex-
pected fluctuations could occur and need to be carefully
monitored, in order to avoid the system running into
“forbidden” or “dangerous” areas.
Modelling the dynamic behaviour of SOFCs is nowadays
a highly strategic research area to well address safe operation
as well as degradation prevention of SOFC stacks. Bhatta-
charyya and Rengaswamy, in their extended literature [3],
reviewed SOFC dynamic models, highlighted the importance
of simulating SOFCs in transient conditions in order to opti-
mise design, control and diagnosis of SOFC systems. With
particular regard to these latter goals, on field of performance
monitoring, as well as the management of energy and mass
flows during system start-up and load changes, it is required
that the development of modelling tools meeting the
compromise between satisfactory accuracy and affordable
computational burden.
The above compromise can be easily achieved by 0-D (i.e.
lumped) modelling approaches, thus explaining the increasing
number of such scientific contributions that recently appeared
in the SOFC literature [3]. An Interesting lumped approach was
followed by Sedghisigarchi and Feliachi [42] for control and
stability enhancement of SOFC-based distributed generators
[43]. Nevertheless, in [42] average cell temperature was
assumed as state variable, thus not allowing to provide some
basic information for balance of plant analysis, such as
temperature of exhaust gases (i.e. outlet SOFC temperature).
Sorrentino et al. [34] proposed hierarchical modelling approach
to derive a lumped, control-oriented model of planar SOFC
capable of accurately simulating temperature and voltage
dynamics as function of the main operating variables (i.e.
current density, fuel and air utilisations, inlet and outlet
temperatures). The contribution [34], differently than [42], does
take into account temperature variation across the channels,
thus being suitable to perform, at low computational cost,
accurate balance of plant analyses, including heat exchangers
sizing [3]. Thus, Sorrentino and Pianese [44] proposed to extend
the lumped approach presented in [34] to the modelling of
a fully integrated SOFC-APU (i.e. auxiliary power unit). This
latter contribution was also proven to be valid for the devel-
opment of model-based diagnostics tools for mobile SOFC-
APUs [45]. The 0-D approach was also applied to transient
modelling of tubular SOFC by Hajimoliana [46], to develop
suited strategies aimed at controlling voltage and cell-tube
temperature by properly acting on both temperature and
pressure of the inlet air flow.
3. Equivalent circuit models with EIS
technique
EIS is a powerful technique which is usually used to assess the
data on the internal resistance, degradation and failure within
an electrochemical system. The approach of EIS relies on
measuring the impedance of a system at different frequencies
by superimposing a small voltage/current AC perturbation
onto the voltage/current operating point. The measured
impedances are a function of frequency. This data is then
used for impedance modelling, including model structure and
parameter identification. For fuel cell systems, the measured
AC impedances Z(u) are usually displayed through the
impedance plot method such as Nyquist plot or Bode plot and
three-dimensional perspective plot like in [47].
Impedance modelling is a critical procedure because it is
the basis of data interpretation. After data fitting, the param-
eters in the model will be identified. In some cases, the
parameters can intuitively provide the information about the
processes inside the system; in other cases, however, an
interpreting action should be carried out. This phase has
a function equal to that of mapping, i.e. transferring from the
identified model parameters to the investigated characteris-
tics of the system [48]. In SOFC performance diagnosis,
equivalent circuit models are often constructed with electrical
elements such as a parallel ReC circuit in the simplest case
[49]. Each discrete element is supposed to have corresponding
physical meanings and thereby, the interpreting action is not
necessary. Once the values of these elements (parameters) are
identified in various operating condition, they can be used as
an estimated data set for fitting physical models. This model-
ling method is explicated in detail in [50].
Takano et al. (2004) [51] investigated specially the imped-
ance corresponding to mass transfer, usually called gas-
diffusion impedance (GDI). In their work, it was assumed that
the solid electrolyte, the electrodes, and the current collectors
were all of homogeneous composition with uniform thick-
ness. The pressure and the temperature inside the cell were
uniform. The ECM with GDI shown in Fig. 10 consists of the
resistance (Rwg) and capacitance (Cwg) for GDI, the reaction
resistance (Rr), the double layer capacitance (Cd), the elec-
tronic resistance (Re), the ionic resistance (Ri) and the ohmic
resistance (Rs). The simulation results showed that the GDI
was significantly dependent on the fuel utilisation. The GDI
became larger as the fuel utilisation approached both 0 and
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Fig. 10 e ECM with GDI [51].
100% and had the inversive relationship with the gas flow
rates.
Lang et al. (2008) [52] used EIS to measure the different
kinds of resistances which contribute to the area specific
resistance (ASR) value (or the slope the I-V curve), due to the
fact that it is not possible to distinguish them via the IeV
curves. Their essential idea is varying the gas composition so
that the different processes can be ordered to the different
frequency ranges. The measured resistances were fitted into
the equivalent circuit (see Fig. 11) so as to simulate the elec-
trochemical behaviours of the cells. Among, the impedance of
the current collector wires is taken into account by the
inductive element ZL; the three terms combining a resistance
and a constant phase element (CPE) represent the polarisation
of electrodes and the gas conversion impedance; the ohmic
resistance is connected in series with these terms.
4. Grey-box models
The aim of the grey-box modelling is to develop model-based
tools aiming at optimal design, management and diagnosis of
SOFC units destined to a wide application area [45].
The grey-box method is based on a priori knowledge con-
cerning the process and on the mathematical relations which
describe the behaviour of the system. This means that the
starting point is a specific model structure based on physical
relations. The construction procedure of a grey-box model
based on mathematical relations can be divided into different
sub-procedures: basic modelling, conduct experiment of the
process, calibration and validation [53]. The flexibility of
Fig. 11 e ECM for a SOFC stack [52].
7221
a grey-box model allows us to extract rules that describe the
behaviour of a device.
Sorrentino and Pianese [45] presented a grey-box model of
a SOFC unit. The core part of the model is the fuel cell stack,
made of planar co-flow SOFCs and surrounded by a number of
auxiliary devices, namely air compressor/blower, regulating
pressure valves, heat exchangers, pre-reformer and post-
burner. As a consequence of low thermal dynamics charac-
terising SOFCs, a lumped-capacity model is proposed to
describe the response of fuel cell and heat exchangers to load
change.
5. Black-box models
The black-box model is a behavioural model that is derived
through statistical data-driven approach. Contrary to the
physical models, they are not based on explicit physical
equation definitions but the measured database which is
capable of reflecting the relationship between inputs and
outputs.
As stated in the previous sections, SOFC is a non-linear,
dynamic system with multiple inputs and outputs. So far,
most of existing models are based on physical conversion
laws and governing equations. Although being useful for
analysis and optimisation of SOFC, they are too complex for
model-based control system. This drawback impelled some
researchers [54e65] to attempt black-box method which is
based on mapping inputs to the appropriate outputs. The
black-box model is constructed without any physical laws but
only a set of input-output pairs for training procedure. It has
been verified that the black-box models based artificial intel-
ligent are very suitable for non-linear dynamic systems [6].
However, such a model requires an amount of database/
experimental data which should well represent a specific
feature of the system. Therefore, the experimental time for
collecting data is very long.
The following paragraphs will give a summary of this kind
of SOFC models most of which aim to predict the cell perfor-
mance in terms of voltage and/or electric power.
5.1. ANN (artificial neural network)
Artificial neural network is a statistical data-driven approach.
It is inspired by the central nervous system, exploiting features
such as high connectivity and parallel information processing,
exactly like in the human brain. An ANN is capable of
producing a response to a specific combination of input data.
With a great number of measured data from a system, the ANN
can be trained to learn the internal relationships that govern
the system, and then to predict its behaviour at a given input.
Across the whole modelling, no relevant physical equation is
used. Moreover, the highly parallel connectivity of ANN can
reduce the computational time.
Arriagada et al. (2002) [54] proposed a non-linear fuel cell
model by utilising ANN for evaluating SOFC performance. This
model is a two-layer feed-forward network (see Fig. 12). The
outputs are air flow, current density, air outlet T (tempera-
ture), fuel outlet T, mean solid T, fuel outlet T, mean solid
T and the reversible voltage. The model was trained with
7222 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Fig. 12 e Feed-forward 2-layer neural network.
a reduced amount of input and correct output data pairs
generated by a physical cell model. The BP (backpropagation)
algorithm was used to modify the weights, which requires the
use of differentiable transfer functions (logistic-sigmoid and
tanh-sigmoid). Comparing the outputs of the ANN model with
that of the physical model, the average values of the errors are
well below 1% and the maximum below 4%. Besides the
numerical accuracy, the ANN model is much faster and easier
to use, which makes it suitable for the generation of perfor-
mance maps.
Milewski et al. (2009) [61] applied an ANN with the same
configuration to simulate the SOFC behaviour, using experi-
mental data for training and testing process. This ANN-based
SOFC model had 9 input parameters (current density,
cathode inlet O2 and N2 flow densities, anode H2 and He flow
density, anode thickness, anode porosity, electrolyte thick-
ness and electrolyte temperature) according to which cell
voltage could be predicted. A hyperbolic tangent sigmoid
transfer function was used as the neuron activation function
in the first layer, whereas a linear transfer function was used
in the output layer. The testing results show that ANN can be
successfully used in modelling of the singular solid oxide fuel
cell. However, its practical design suffers from some draw-
backs such as the existence of local minima and over-fitting
Fig. 13 e RBF neural network.
as well as the determination of the number of hidden layer
nodes, etc.
5.2. RBFNN (radial basis function neural network)
Compared with the general form of ANN as stated above,
radial basis function neural network has a number of advan-
tages, such as better approximation properties, simpler
network structures and faster learning algorithms. The RBF
neural network is a feed-forward neural network and can
uniformly approximate any continuous function to a pre-
specified accuracy (Warwick, 1996) [63]. It consists of an input
layer, a non-linear hidden layer and a linear output layer (see
Fig. 13). The input variables are each assigned to nodes in the
input layer and connected directly to the hidden layer without
weights. The hidden layer nodes (RBF units) calculate the
Euclidean distances between the centres and the network
input vector, and pass the results through a non-linear func-
tion. The output layer nodes are weighted linear combinations
of the RBF in hidden layer.
The most used non-linear function for RBF units is
Gaussian activation function. For realising the RBF algorithm,
it is very important that how to choose the optimum initial
values of the three parameters: the output weights, the
centres and the widths of the Gaussian function. If these
parameters are not appropriately chosen, the RBF neural
network may degrade validity and accuracy of modelling [64].
The standard training method determines the hidden centres
by clustering approach which usually results in a large
number of selected centres. In addition, this kind of training
method is time-consuming, since it requires examining many
different network structures by using a trial and error proce-
dure. Chakraborty built RBF neural networks with 3, 4, 5 and
10 hidden neurons, respectively, in order to find the optimal
network structure for the SOFC modelling [55].
Wu et al. (2007) [64] built a 2-3-1 RBF neural network and
utilised a genetic algorithm (GA) to optimise the parameters of
the network. The optimum values are regarded as the initial
values of the RBFNN parameters and the gradient descent
learning algorithms were used to adjust them. GA is a kind of
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
self-adaptive global searching optimisation algorithm based
on the mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics
[57]. Different from conventional optimisation algorithms,
GA is based on population, in which each individual is evolved
parallel, and the ultimate result is included in the last
population [64].
The similar work was done by Huo et al. (2008) [59] for
realising a Hammerstein model of the SOFC in which the non-
linear static part was approximated by an RBFNN and the
linear dynamic part was modelled by an autoregressive with
exogenous input model. Such a model aimed at controlling
fuel utilisation and output voltage of a SOFC stack so that the
stack could be protected and the voltage demand of DC type
loads could be meted. The natural gas input flow, the oxygen
flow, the operating temperature and the stack current were
chosen as the model inputs. The fuel utilisation was kept
constant. The gas input flow was controlled according to the
stack current which was proportional with the load. Through
a large number of tests, an RBFNN with 6 hidden nodes was
proven for obtaining a better performance.
According to Chakraborty [55], the number of hidden layer
neurons in RBFNNcan be determined from the training data by
a learning algorithm while optimising the number of Gaussian
neurons with a global search algorithm, such as genetic
algorithm or differential evolution, would cause more
computational time to be spent.
5.3. LS-SVM (least squares support vector machine)
LS-SVM was proposed by Suykens and Vandewalle [62] as
a modification of the standard SVM. It possesses prominent
advantages over ANN, such as few occurrence of over-fitting
through the structural risk minimisation principle, and the
capability to get the global optimal solution by solving a set of
linear equations [65].
A non-linear model of SOFC was established in [58], based
on LS-SVM. Fuel utilisation and cell current were chosen as
the two inputs and cell voltage as the output. The training data
was generated by a mathematical cell model operating at
steady-state regime. The RBF function was used as the kernel
function of LS-SVM, in which the two important parameters,
regularisation parameter and kernel width, were tuned
rapidly with a 10-fold cross-validation procedure and a grid
search mechanism by LS-SVM toolbox. In comparison with
the RBFNN approach, simulation results in this research
showed that the LS-SVM yielded higher prediction accuracy.
5.4. ANFIS (adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system)
ANFIS is a fuzzy inference system (FIS) implemented in the
framework of adaptive networks. It was put forward by
Dr. Jang while various combinations of methodologies in
“soft” computing emerged. It integrates the advantage of both
neural networks and fuzzy system, which not only has good
learning capability but can also be interpreted easily [65].
The architecture of ANFIS and the methods to update
parameters in membership functions during learning process
have been introduced in detail in [60]. The FIS is composed of
five functional blocks (see Fig. 14):
7223
1. A rule base containing a number of fuzzy if-then rules;
2. A database which defines the membership functions of the
fuzzy sets used in the fuzzy rules;
3. A decision-making unit which performs the inference
operations on the rules;
4. A fuzzification interface which transforms the crisp inputs
into degrees of match with linguistic values;
5. A defuzzification interface which transform the fuzzy
results of the inference into a crisp output [60].
Entchev et al. (2007) [56] applied the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox of
MATLAB to build an ANFIS model which could predict SOFC
stack current and voltage. This model initialled the parame-
ters in membership function and then they were adjusted by
applying a combination of the least squares estimate (LSE)
method and the back propagation (BP) gradient decent
method. Similarly, Wu et al. (2008) [65] applied ANFIS to build
a dynamic model of SOFC stacks for predicting stack voltage.
Note that at MATLAB, the ANFIS usually applies a hybrid
learning algorithm in which the consequent parameters are
identified by the LSE and the antecedent (premise) parameters
by the BP.
6. Validation and application of models
6.1. Validation of models
Model validation is the last step of model development that
should always be carried out only after the modelled physical
set up is fixed. It is usually done by comparing the simulated
results with the actual measurement data which were never
presented in model parameterisation and tuning. What
results to be selected for comparing is dependent on model-
ling objectives. For system simulation and optimisation, the
following parameters may be chosen to be verified:
1. the polarisation curves (IV curves) or/and the impedance
spectrum (only for AC impedance modelling approach)
where steady-state operating point (such as gas flow rates
and compositions, operating temperature, fuel inlet and
outlet temperatures) are required;
2. fuel cell performance (such as electrical power or efficiency,
operating voltage and temperature profile) at different load
and operating conditions;
3. transient behaviour of the stack (stack temperature evolu-
tion against time, voltage or current profile) during load
changes.
If a model can reproduce the same results (at a given level
of confidence) with the experimental ones, this model is
considered valid.
However, some degree of uncertainty in experiments and
also in calculations always exists [8] which might result in
large deviation between the computed and the measured
values. In practise the data obtained from even repeated
experiments are never identical while in simulation the model
should always produce the same output when given the same
input. Due to this fact, the uncertainty of measurement data
should be considered when validating a model. In [18], the
7224 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
conducted model was validated at steady-state condition by
verifying the correlation of the experimental polarisation and
power density curves with the simulated ones. The model was
finally considered valid because the simulation results had
a consistent trend when compared to experimental data.
Furthermore, due to high temperature operating, there is
a large chance of having some variation in materials resulting
in defects in the SOFC structure. Hence, a lower experimental
performance must be expected. In [31], the authors considered
during model validation the effects of micro-cracks which
lead to 1) a not perfect adherence between cell components
and 2) some cross-over of the reactant gases between two
electrode sides. These effects were simulated respectively
1) by introducing an additional constant resistance into the
model and 2) by considering occurrence of a chemical reaction
between oxygen and hydrogen which causes the presence of
water in both the anodic and the cathodic flow rates. The
polarisation curves obtained from the simulations and the
experiments are compared to verify the agreement of these
results.
Besides the uncertainty of experiment, another difficulty of
SOFC model validation is due to limited resources and
measurement techniques such as the difficulties of measuring
variables like local current density, temperature or gas
composition, especially for multi-dimensional SOFC models.
In this case, an indirect validation can be performed by
comparing the predictions of two or more independent
models for an identical test case [8]. Achenbach (1994) [66]
compared eight independent models for a predefined bench-
mark test. The values of three outputs from these models, i.e.
the maximum solid temperature, minimum solid tempera-
ture and the air exit temperature, were analysed by statistical
method. The 2-D model in [19] was validated against a 1-D
model as well as empirical data. The validation of the 2-D
model in [67] was carried out with measurements and a 3-D
computational fluid dynamics model. The 1-D model in [24]
was validated by being compared with a 0-D model. In [12],
the authors compared three 0-D models with different gas
composition modes as an input for simulating SOFC perfor-
mance evaluation. Through analysing the results with phys-
ical and empirical knowledge on SOFC system, it was
concluded that using the average composition rather than
inlet or outlet gases composition when the fuel utilisation is
low, the SOFC behaviour could be approximated well.
For black-box models, before modelling, experimental
data are divided into three parts the third of which is for
knowledge base
database rule base
input
fuzzification defuzzification
interface interface
fuzzy decision-making unit fuzzy
Fig. 14 e Fuzzy inference system [60].
model validation. It should be ensured on one hand that none
of points in such a data set is involved in the training data set
and on the other hand that this validation data set should be
involved in the mathematical space of the training one.
Therefore, validation of black-box model permits to assess
how well the model can explain the significant information
in the training data and how it will generalise to an inde-
pendent data set with the same or similar information
involved in.
6.2. Application of models for SOFC system diagnosis
As stated in the introduction, this review is aimed to propose
a state-of-the-art of existing SOFC models for system model-
based diagnosis. The design for a fault-diagnosis system
begins frequently with mathematical modelling of the process
[68], following the idea of comparing the measured response
of system with the simulated normal one to determine
whether or not a fault has occurred during the real process. In
our case, the diagnosed object will be the FC system with
potential failures in operation that yield a sudden drop of
performance. The stack will be treated as a sensor. The output
deviation from the model will be analysed in order to assess
system performance. Setting up such a generic diagnostic tool
requires an intensive model use for example by combining
fast models with a statistical representation of both operative
and state variables, and in this case black-box and grey-box
models are more appropriate than physical ones [45].
Black-box model is very suited for interpreting and pre-
dicting the performance of SOFC at both normal and abnormal
operating conditions and of different geometric designs,
avoiding using complicated differential equations to describe
the stack [64]. As long as the input-output data for depicting
the studied process is available, an accurate model of this type
can be achieved relying upon optimisation on training algo-
rithm or/and model architecture. Unfortunately, the avail-
ability of experimental data that should be enough
representative for the modelled phenomena is always a major
problem of black-box modelling, especially in SOFC modelling
for diagnostic application due to the high risk of fuel cell
damage and experimental failure when a system fault occurs
(for example a low flow rate of input or a too high operating
temperature which may be catastrophic for fuel cell and lead
to system shut-down). Overcoming this problem needs to
borrow validate white-box models to supplement the experi-
mental data matrix. In [54,55,58,59,64,65], the black-box
models were trained and validated by using pure data
produced from physical models. These models showed a good
congruence with the physical ones and to be generic to
various operational conditions as well. The performances of
them are, however, limited by the accuracy of the applied
physical models and should be thus further validated and
output
modified with experimental data.
It is worth noting that all the reviewed black-box models in
this paper are straightforward type aiming at simulating static
SOFC processes. However, the application of neural networks
to the modelling or fault diagnosis of control systems requires
taking into account the dynamics of processes or system
considered [6]. Hence, SOFC recurrent neural network models
that include feedback loops from output would be very
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
Fig. 15 e Interactions and Applications of different model types in online SOFC system diagnosis.
necessary to be considered and developed. In fact, this type of
model had been developed for proton exchange membrane
(PEM) fuel cell dynamic modelling by Jemei et al. (2004) [69]
and Puranik et al. (2010) [70] but at present, there is no such
model for SOFC dynamics in the available literature. Accord-
ingly, recurrent neural network for SOFC dynamic modelling
will carry more weight in the future work.
Different from black-box model, grey-box model requires
both the knowledge on the process or studied system (repre-
sented by mathematical relations) and empirical data. More-
over, the more the model is detailed, the more data/
information is required, especially with respect to geometric
design and material properties. However, a reliable grey-box
model for fuel cell can be realised also with a general knowl-
edge of the geometry and an empirical definition of the losses
as a function of stack operating temperature, e.g. area specific
resistance. The existing dynamic 2-D and 1-D models can be
used as a starting point in the development of a grey-box
model. For diagnosis application, it can be assumed in such
a model that SOFC behaves as a first-order system and
thermal dynamics is much slower and thus dominant with
respect to the dynamics of electrochemistry and mass trans-
fer. In this case, SOFC is simulated by applying the conserva-
tion of energy principle (heat balance) for a lumped control
volume, which includes air and fuel channels, as well as
interconnect and solid tri-layer (i.e. electrolyte and electrodes)
[33,44,34].
7. Conclusion & prospective
In this paper four modelling approaches for SOFC are pre-
sented. The physical models have been greatly developed in
recent decade. They are constructed based on the physical
laws in thermo-fluid and electrochemical courses, which can
describe the internal physical and chemical behaviours inside
7225
a fuel cell unit. The 3-D and 2-D models are complicated and
time-consuming in spite of their considerable accuracy. The
improved 1-D and 0-D models by being integrated several
simplifications are regarded as the most pertinent for real
time simulation applications. These simplifications (or
assumptions) are required to not only reduce the computa-
tional time but improve the model reliability as well. They are
suitable for those applications requiring a satisfactory
compromise between accuracy and computational time, such
as model-based control and diagnostics. The equivalent
circuit models can be used to simulate the AC impedance
spectrum of SOFCs, providing information about the indi-
vidual behaviours inside a cell or a stack. However, due to the
complexity and coupling of physicochemical processes in
SOFCs, it remains technical gaps in the AC impedance
modelling and simulation in terms of fundamental under-
standing [48]. The grey-box method is based on a combination
of a priori knowledge concerning the process and the math-
ematical relations which describe the behaviour of a SOFC
system. Its flexibility allows us to extract rules that describe or
interpret the behaviours. The black-box models can predict
the fuel cell performance without knowledge of numerous
physical, chemical and electrochemical parameters. The
underlying self-learning process ensures adapting the model
to new situations. The black-box models based on artificial
intelligence are flexible and pertinent for the non-linear
dynamic FC system [6]. The disadvantages are that 1) the
collection of experimental database should be perform in
a long time and 2) a raw data processing is necessary in order
to reduce the training time and improve the fidelity of the
model.
The validation of models of each type has been discussed.
With the aim of setting up a generic model-based diagnostic
tool for SOFC systems, the roles of models within the diag-
nostic algorithm development have been pointed out.
Dynamical simulation of system process is required for
7226 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 7 2 1 2 e7 2 2 8
realising online fault diagnosis, which may lead to selecting
recurrent neural network for SOFC modelling. Considering the
limited information level retained by the experimental data, it
will be taken into account the extension of the available data
set by means of hierarchical modelling approach in future
work. An overall prospective for real time model-based diag-
nosis of SOFC system is sketched in Fig. 15. The black-box
model is expected for static and especially dynamic simula-
tion of SOFC responses to inputs. The grey-box model devel-
oped from 1-D or 2-D physical models is aimed to describe
thermal dynamics of fuel cell and to represent the balance of
plant, providing details in physical sense. 3-D and 0-D models
are two extremes in physical models and they will be used to
supplement experimental data matrix (set up based on design
of experiment (DOE)) for reinforcing the black-box model
applicability. The former aims at various geometries of SOFCs
and the later at different operating conditions. In addition,
these data may also be useful for knowledge/feature extrac-
tion of considered faults, serving for fault identification and
localisation (refer to [68]) in the last diagnosis step. The
equivalent circuit models based on EIS technique will be used
for stack degradation analysis in frequency domain to know in
what frequency range a given fault can be observed. These
results can be used for signal-based diagnosis (refer to [68]).
Acknowledgements
The financial support of the European Commission for the
GENIUS Collaborative Project is gratefully acknowledged.
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