ABSTRACT
High temperature fuel cells (MCFCs and SOFCs) can operate at atmospheric or pressurized conditions. In both cases, system performance can be significantly improved when the fuel cells are integrated with proper devices, which are designed to provide the necessary air inlet conditions and to recover the exhaust gas energy. This entry reports about modeling and design issues in the integration of turbomachinery with the fuel cell system, since turbomachinery is the most promising technology for coping with the high temperature fuel cell requirements. Analytical approach for properly modeling composition influence on expander performance is outlined. The analysis covers two main aspects of performance evaluation: the on-design and the off-design of fuel cell hybrid systems.
