Energy analysis of a hybrid installation “solid oxide fuel cell – Stirling engine” with cascade heat utilization

DOI
Journal Journal of Mechanical Engineering – Problemy Mashynobuduvannia
Publisher Anatolii Pidhornyi Institute of Power Machines and Systems
of National Academy of Science of Ukraine
ISSN  2709-2984 (Print), 2709-2992 (Online)
Issue Vol. 29, no. 3, 2026 (September)
Pages 56-70
Cited by J. of Mech. Eng., 2026, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 56-70

 

Authors

Dmytro D. Hrinchenko, Anatolii Pidhornyi Institute of Power Machines and Systems of NAS of Ukraine (2/10, Komunalnykiv str., Kharkiv, 61099, Ukraine), e-mail: dimag628@gmail.com, ORCID: 0009-0001-8648-8099

Viktoriia O. Tarasova, Anatolii Pidhornyi Institute of Power Machines and Systems of NAS of Ukraine (2/10, Komunalnykiv str., Kharkiv, 61099, Ukraine), e-mail: vat523710@gmail.com, ORCID: 0009-0009-3695-8388

 

Abstract

A schematic solution of a hybrid power plant based on a solid oxide fuel cell (SOC) and Stirling engines is proposed, which involves cascading utilization of the thermal potential of the SOFC output streams. The aim of the study is to increase the efficiency of fuel energy use in a hybrid SOFC – Stirling engine power plant by finding a schematic solution with cascading utilization of the energy potential of the solid oxide fuel cell output streams and sequential utilization of heat in Stirling engines of different temperature levels. A mathematical model of the plant has been developed, which takes into account the material and energy balances of its main elements, the efficiency of the regenerator, dead volumes and temperature pressures in Stirling engines. A parametric analysis of the influence of the regeneration efficiency and the temperature pressure between the gas flow and the working fluid on the energy characteristics of the plant has been carried out. For the scheme with one Stirling engine, it was found that increasing the efficiency of the regenerator from 0.5 to 0.8 increases its thermal efficiency from 16.32–16.33% to 28.41–28.54%, and the electric power from 116 to 202.72 kW. At the same time, the highest value of the energy efficiency of the hybrid installation among the studied modes is 77.30%. It is shown that after the first stage of heat utilization and recuperative heating of the cathode air, the temperature of the output gas stream remains at the level of 474–528 °C. To use this thermal potential, it is proposed to install a second Stirling engine operating at a lower temperature level of heat supply. According to the results of calculations, its electric power is 103.29–108.17 kW, and the total electric power of the hybrid installation reaches 810.85 kW. The largest among the studied modes is the calculated value of the energy efficiency of the two-stage installation, which is 89.19% at the efficiency of the regenerators e1=e2=0.8 and temperature heads ΔTh,1=20 K and ΔTh,2=50 K. The obtained results confirm the feasibility of cascading utilization of the heat potential of the output streams of TOPE in Stirling engines of different temperature levels for additional production of electric energy.

 

Keywords: solid oxide fuel cell, Stirling engine, hybrid power plant, cascade heat recovery, heat regeneration, temperature head, energy efficiency.

 

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Received 12 August 2026
Accepted 01 September 2026
Published 30 September 2026