Developing high-efficiency and low-carbon propulsion systems is a pressing concern within the aviation field. This paper studies a hybrid power system that combines a solid oxide fuel cell and a gas turbine (SOFC-GT) with propane as fuel, which is easy to store and has a high energy density. The analysis focuses on key parameters such as compressor pressure ratio, fuel utilization rate, and fuel distribution. And a balance between system efficiency and the power-to-weight ratio has been achieved through multi-objective optimization. The conclusions indicate that system efficiency and system weight in the hybrid power system are optimized in opposite directions. Within the design parameters, the hybrid power system’s efficiency achieves 0.621, the specific fuel consumption is 115.2 g/kWh, and the power-to-weight ratio is 0.569 kW/kg. Further discussion on the application of this hybrid system in long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles shows an efficiency of 0.651 during the cruise phase, indicating a promising application prospect of a propane-fueled SOFC-GT hybrid system in the aviation field.

In this study, a three-dimensional direct ammonia solid oxide fuel cell (DA-SOFC) was numerically modeled to investigate the effects of ammonia inlet flow velocity, tube structure, and catalyst filling on the internal temperature distribution of the cell. The results show that shortening the length of the ammonia inlet tube and increasing the inlet flow velocity leads to an increase in the temperature difference inside the cell. By perforating the ammonia inlet tube, the temperature difference can be further reduced, and the low-temperature zone inside the cell gradually decreases with the perforated area percentage increasing. In addition, placing ammonia decomposition catalyst inside the perforated inlet tube can further improve the temperature difference between the electrodes inside the cell, reducing it from 30 K to about 1 K. Furthermore, the temperature distribution pattern inside the fuel cell with metal supports was investigated, and it was found that the metal support can better export the heat generated inside the fuel cell. This study provides a new idea to improve the temperature distribution of DA-SOFC and enhance the stability and reliability of cell operation.

Performance of an La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Co0.2O3- (LSCF)––Ag/(Ag0.9Co0.1) cathode on a Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 electrolyte was studied. The effect of Co alloying on Ag-impregnated Ag + LSCF cathode for the oxygen reduction reaction in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells has been studied in detail. The results indicate that an addition of 10 mol.% Co effectively inhibits the growth and coalescence of Ag particles at high temperatures. As a consequence, the electrochemical performance and stability of the cathode are significantly improved. The electrochemical performance of the Ag + LSCF and Ag0.9Co0.1 + LSCF cathodes is much better than that of the mixed ionic and electronic conducting oxide cathodes LSCF.

On account of sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER), developing low-cost, earth-abundant, efficient and stable catalyst is essential for renewable storage and conversion. Here, we reported a highly active and durable Sr0.9K0.1Co1-x Fex (x=0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9) as a novel catalyst, doping K in A-site and Fe in B-site. Sr0.9K0.1Co0.7Fe0.3 (SKCF-9173) materials show prominently enhanced performance, including lower overpotential (0.4V) in alkaline media (0.1 M KOH) for the OER than other catalysts.