Liquid Water Transport Behavior at GDL-Channel Interface of a Wave-Like Channel

Anyanwu, Ikechukwu S.; Niu, Zhiqiang; Jiao, Daokuan; Najmi, Aezid-Ul-Hassan; Liu, Zhi; Jiao, Kui

doi:10.3390/en13112726

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Liu et al [15] performed a 3D VOF assuming different patterns for the GDL: it was still an impermeable and hydrophobic surface, but they used a striped, dotted and waved surface to study the effects of GDL's microstructure and optimize the shape parameters of those "disturbances". Anyanwu et al [16] compared the liquid water transport in wave-like channels for smooth and rough GDL. They substantially demonstrated that smaller fiber diameters and more ordered and uniform microstructure reduced the flooding of flow channels by favouring water removal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D CFD Simulation of Water Droplet Dynamics on a Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Layer by Considering a Realistic Woven Structure

Merola¹,

Antetomaso²,

Irimescu³

et al. 2023

36th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems (ECOS 20

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cells have been identified as suitable for vehicle implementation. As for all fuel cell types, thermal management is a critical issue: the redox reactions taking place in the membrane electrode assembly generate water; a humid membrane is able to enhance transport phenomena, but too much water could flood the pathways of reactant gases. Recently, interest has grown with respect to the properties of the gas diffusion layer of membranes: its fibres pattern can critically affect water removal rates. Computation fluid dynamics represents a powerful tool that can be used for understanding the key design factors of fuel cell components to improve the overall performance. Specifically, in the case of the diffusion layer, 3D simulation can investigate droplet dynamics and define the optimized surface structure for water management. In this paper, optical data and numerical results were combined to characterize the behaviour (oscillation, detachment, etc) of a couple of droplets on the woven gas diffusion layer with a structure retrieved by using an approach typical of the textile industry. High-spatial resolution imaging allowed the evaluation of warp/weft size; these parameters were used for building the 3D mesh for simulations based on the Volume of fluid method. The dynamics of droplets, with diameters ranging from 200 to 600 μm, were investigated under the effect of a constant 10 m/s airflow for different gas diffusion layer geometries. In addition, the cases of the droplet pairs, deposited at different reciprocal distances, were studied by using the same methodological approach. Results demonstrated the impact of layer structure on the results obtained through simulations; moreover, an optimised design can contribute to control water removal and minimise flooding effects.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D CFD Simulation of Water Droplet Dynamics on a Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Layer by Considering a Realistic Woven Structure

Merola¹,

Antetomaso²,

Irimescu³

et al. 2023

36th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems (ECOS 20

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have become one of the most promising clean energy sources in the 21st century due to their high efficiency, zero emissions, and low noise. − The gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the key porous components that affect the characteristics of the PEMFC, and it plays an important role in the transport of reactant gases and water. − Anyanwu et al studied the relationship between reconstructed GDL surfaces with varying fiber diameters, wettability, and droplet size and found that a smaller fiber diameter and stronger hydrophobicity facilitated the transport of droplets. Zhang et al studied the stress–strain relationship of GDL from the perspective of solid mechanics and found that as the acting pressure is increased, the average porosity of carbon paper decreases, and the nonuniformity of porosity along with the through-plane direction increases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Structural Parameters on Mass Transfer Characteristics in the Gas Diffusion Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Liao

Yang

et al. 2021

Energy Fuels

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The gas diffusion layer (GDL) is a key component to realize effective gas transport in the electrode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. To study the effect of different structural parameters on the mass transfer characteristics of the GDL, a developed random reconstruction algorithm is proposed to generate three-dimensional (3D) GDLs with different structures, and the lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate the flow behavior of reactant gases in the GDL. Through the calculation of the tortuosity and the comparison with the results reported in the references, the accuracy of the model in this paper is demonstrated. The outlet velocity and average velocity of the gas, the gas phase tortuosity, and diffusivity of the GDL are calculated by changing the structural parameters of carbon fiber diameter, porosity, and thickness. It is found that increasing the diameter of the carbon fiber from 7 to 9 μm can increase the reactant gas velocity but has little effect on the improvement of GDL diffusion characteristics. Increasing the porosity from 60 to 80% can significantly increase the reactant gas velocity and improve the diffusion characteristics of the GDL. Increasing the thickness from 112 to 280 μm, the reactant gas velocity is significantly reduced, and the diffusion characteristics of the GDL are weakened, but the change is not obvious. Finally, the influence of GDL structural parameters on electrical conductivity is discussed.

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“…Bao et al , digitally reconstructed the full morphology of the metal foam flow field through X-ray computational tomography and studied the droplet dynamics in a metal foam flow field. In addition, some researchers have explored the droplet dynamics in different shapes of gas channels, such as wave-like gas channels, , 3D flow field, , and serpentine flow channel. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bao et al 37,38 digitally reconstructed the full morphology of the metal foam flow field through X-ray computational tomography and studied the droplet dynamics in a metal foam flow field. In addition, some researchers have explored the droplet dynamics in different shapes of gas channels, such as wave-like gas channels, 39,40 3D flow field, 41,42 and serpentine flow channel. 43,44 The research findings mentioned earlier only consider droplet dynamics in a PEMFC with the flow-through mode, while the dead-ended mode has not been investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Droplet Dynamics in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell with Ejector-Based Recirculation

Liu

Luo

et al. 2021

Energy Fuels

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Effective water management plays a significant role in improving the performance and lifetime of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The ejector can take full advantage of the huge pressure potential between the high-pressure fuel tank and the PEMFCs to realize fuel gas recovery, and it is usually adopted for the auxiliary drainage of hydrogen/oxygen stacks. In this study, the dynamic behavior of liquid water droplets in the cathode flow channel of a PEMFC operating in ejector-based recirculation mode was numerically investigated. The effects of the operating current density of the fuel cell as well as the pore size of the water inlet boundary on the droplet behavior were studied, and the number of contact surfaces between the droplet and the flow channel were investigated. The results show that the speed of water removal from the flow channel with ejector-based recirculation can be increased by 37.5% when the fuel cell operates at 1.0 A cm–2. Moreover, the hydrophobic side and top surfaces are more suitable for water slug removal when the PEMFC operates at a high current density, owing to the shorter drainage period. We herein provide recommendations for effectively enhancing the water management of a PEMFC with ejector-based gas recirculation.

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Liquid Water Transport Behavior at GDL-Channel Interface of a Wave-Like Channel

Cited by 17 publications

References 45 publications

3D CFD Simulation of Water Droplet Dynamics on a Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Layer by Considering a Realistic Woven Structure

3D CFD Simulation of Water Droplet Dynamics on a Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Layer by Considering a Realistic Woven Structure

Effect of Structural Parameters on Mass Transfer Characteristics in the Gas Diffusion Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Droplet Dynamics in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell with Ejector-Based Recirculation

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