Fundamental characteristics of a solid oxide redox flow battery consisting of solid oxide electrochemical cell (SOEC) and redox metal were studied by a gas-diffusion based time-dependent 1-D numerical simulation taking both the electrochemical and redox reactions into account. Close attention was paid to the distributions of the participating gas species and their effects on the charge/discharge performance. The volume expansion/reduction of the porous metal associated with the redox reaction was modeled as decrease/increase in local porosity. The numerical results for charge/discharge operation qualitatively showed the time-dependent distributions of the related physical quantities such as the gas concentrations, the active reaction region in the redox metal, and its local porosity. It was found that, to ensure effective redox reaction throughout the operation, the gas diffusion in the redox metal should be carefully designed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.