Probabilistic analysis of a solid-oxide fuel-cell based hybrid gas-turbine system

The emergence of fuel-cell systems and hybrid fuel-cell systems requires the evolution of analysis strategies for evaluating thermodynamic performance. A gas-turbine thermodynamic cycle integrated with a fuel cell was computationally simulated and probabilistically evaluated in view of the several uncertainties in the thermodynamic performance parameters. Cumulative distribution functions and sensitivity factors were computed for the overall thermal-efficiency due to the uncertainties in the thermodynamic random variables. These results can be used to quickly identify the most critical design variables in order to optimize the design and make it cost effective. The analysis leads to the selection of criteria for gas-turbine performance.