In the present study design and off-design performance of a combined SOFC/GT system is investigated. For the evaluation a process simulation tool, Aspen Plus®, was used, completed with a user model representing a SOFC component of planar design. The fuel cell model is a detailed mathematical and physical description thereby avoiding performance curves. A recuperated SOFC/GT system, in size of around 500 kW, with natural gas as fuel, was analysed. Design calculations and sensitivity studies resulted in high electric efficiencies at low pressure ratios. Recent work has focused on off-design calculations investigating different ambient conditions and part load behaviour of this system. Thanks to the small size of the gas turbine, the operational mode is assumed flexible, allowing variation of both rotor speed and of turbine inlet temperature (TIT). In the calculations a simplified compressor map and a choked expander were considered. A high part load efficiency of the system was found exceeding the design point efficiency by as much as three percentage points.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.