Numerical simulation of water droplet dynamics in a right angle gas channel of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Jo, Jae Heung; Kim, Woo Tae

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.04.122

Cited by 57 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…When compared all configuration cases, the WVF at t = 40 ms shows the highest value for the REC configuration and the lowest value for the T60 configuration in Figure 8a. Considering the time evolution of the liquid water interface, the WVF, and the GWCR, = 140° cases (representative of the most hydrophobic surface) show the most favorable water removal characteristics as suggested by many researchers [17][18][19]. …”

Section: Effect Of Gdl Surface Contact Angle and Air Inlet Velocitymentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Also, condensation and evaporation effects of liquid water inside the GCs are assumed to be negligible during the simulation period. The VOF method is employed to calculate the position of the interface between the two immiscible fluids by applying a surface tracking technique on a fixed Eulerian mesh [19,22]. The volume fraction of the q th fluid in the computational cell, α q , is the main variable used in the VOF method.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the multiphase model, air and liquid water are considered as the primary and the secondary phases respectively. The surface tension coefficient between the air and liquid water is held as a constant [19,22]. The explicit scheme is adopted for the VOF method with the maximum allowed a Courant number of 0.25 near the gas-liquid interface.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the geometry of the GCs, the effect of GDL and channel wall wettability is critical to the two-phase flow patterns [16][17][18][19][20][21]. Turhan et al [16] investigated the effect of channel wall wettability on through-plane liquid water distribution in a PEM fuel cell via high resolution neutron imaging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In regard to the GC cross-sectional geometry, the trapezoidal cross section with open angles of 50 • and 60 • showed a more favorable water removal characteristics compared to the rectangular, semicircular, trapezoidal open angle of 40 • geometries. Jo and Kim investigated the effect of the water inlet pore location on the GDL surface in the bent GC of a PEM fuel cell [19]. Although the two-phase flow patterns were different depending on the locations of water inlet pore, the GDL surface water coverage ratio (WCR) increased and the water volume fraction (WVF) decreased as the contact angle of the top and side walls increased.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Comparison of Liquid Water Dynamics in Bent Gas Channels of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell with Different Channel Cross Sections in a Channel Flooding Situation

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The transport characteristics of water slugs in a bent gas channel of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell are numerically studied using the volume of fluid (VOF) method. To investigate the effects of channel cross-sectional shape in a channel flooding situation, the gas channels (GCs) with one rectangular and two trapezoidal cross sections are compared. Parametric studies are also conducted to evaluate the effects of the contact angle of the top and side walls, the contact angle of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface, and the air inlet velocity. Considering both of the water volume fraction (WVF) and GDL water coverage ratio (WCR), the trapezoidal channel with open angles of 60 degrees provides the most favorable performance in a channel flooding condition. Among all the top and side wall contact angles considered, the hydrophobic contact angle of 120 degrees shows the best results. Among the three GDL contact angles of 90, 110 and 140 degrees, the hydrophobic GDL contact angle of 140 degrees provides the most favorable water removal characteristics in a channel flooding situation. For all cross-sectional shapes, the water removal rate increases and the liquid water interface shows more complex patterns as the air inlet velocity increases.

show abstract

Section: Effect Of Gdl Surface Contact Angle and Air Inlet Velocitymentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Comparison of Liquid Water Dynamics in Bent Gas Channels of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell with Different Channel Cross Sections in a Channel Flooding Situation

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Dynamic contact angle effects on gas-liquid transport phenomena in proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathode with parallel design

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Among the numerical studies on liquid water transport in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the static contact angle (SCA) model is generally used, while the dynamic contact angle (DCA) model is only applied on the simulation of droplet behaviors with simple geometries like a single microchannel. In this study, for the first time, the DCA model is used to study the gas‐liquid phenomena inside the cathode of PEMFC with parallel flow field design, ie, Parallel‐DCA model. The water emerging and transport processes are simulated on the basis of this Parallel‐DCA model using the volume of fluid method. The DCA effects are investigated by comparing the numerical results to those from the Parallel‐SCA model with the same computational domain and operating conditions and the experiment from an available literature as well. It is indicated that the water distribution pattern from the Parallel‐DCA model is more similar to the experimental results, showing the potential of DCA model to be applied in the simulation of water management in PEMFCs with complex flow field designs. The general water transport, water emerging process, and draining process from the Parallel‐DCA and Parallel‐SCA models are presented and discussed.

show abstract

Numerical investigation of liquid water dynamics in wave-like gas channels of PEMFCs

Peng

et al. 2018

Int J Energy Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary For the air feed in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the wave‐like gas channel (GC) shows obvious advantages over the straight GC because the former enhances collision of secondary flow and diffusion in the gas diffusion layer (GDL). However, it is prone to water flooding, which brings greater pressure drop, larger pressure oscillation, and blocking of reaction area. In the present study, numerical models of the water dynamic processes, including water droplets emerging from micropores on the GDL surface and removing through the GC, are established based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method. Water coverage ratio and pressure drop are calculated to evaluate the water flooding. The effects of the dimensional parameters of wave‐like GC and contact angle of channel walls on the water accumulation are studied. The emergence and removal of liquid water is a quasiperiodic and oscillating process. Multicycle simulations show that channel pressure drop increases linearly with greater growth rate than channel length. The equilibrium position of water droplet is strongly dependent on the relative wettability of the GDL and bipolar plate (BPP) surfaces. And the geometric parameters of GC have a significant impact on the pressure, water removal behavior and detachment time. Smaller bent angle brings bigger pressure drop, and larger cycle length is helpful for relieving the oscillation of pressure.

show abstract

Numerical simulation of water droplet dynamics in a right angle gas channel of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Cited by 57 publications

References 57 publications

Comparison of Liquid Water Dynamics in Bent Gas Channels of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell with Different Channel Cross Sections in a Channel Flooding Situation

Comparison of Liquid Water Dynamics in Bent Gas Channels of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell with Different Channel Cross Sections in a Channel Flooding Situation

Dynamic contact angle effects on gas-liquid transport phenomena in proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathode with parallel design

Numerical investigation of liquid water dynamics in wave-like gas channels of PEMFCs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About