A shielded slot was designed for use in a typical current collector/gas distributor fuel cell and was formed from a series of arches with heights suitable for providing sufficient quantities of fuel gases and reaction areas. The shielded slot was substituted in place of the interconnect and offered several advantages in terms of mechanical support and electrical contact. A three-dimensional (3-D) electrochemical reaction model and a microelectrode model of the planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) were used to predict the performances of the shielded slots in planar SOFCs. Prior to analyzing the complex arrangement of the shielded slot, a variety of interconnect arrangements were simulated to understand the relationship between the gas supply and the electrical contact arrangements. The reactivity properties were examined and the most effective arrangement of shielded slots was identified in an effort to design an optimal shielded slot. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.