Numerical simulations of two-phase flow in proton exchange membrane fuel cells using the volume of fluid method – A review

Ferreira, Rui B.; Falcão, D.S.; Oliveira, Vânia

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.11.124

Cited by 136 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Since the first paper in this research field by Quan et al, 2 a series of studies using VOF method have been reported regarding the two-phase flows in gas channels or gas diffusion layers of PEMFCs. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] A recent comprehensive review was conducted by Ferreira et al 13 for the two-phase flow simulation in PEMFCs based on the VOF method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical challenges in numerical simulation of droplet behaviors with dynamic contact angle in microchannels

2019

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Summary Droplet behaviors play a major role in water management of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Contact angle, as one of the critical parameters in the boundary conditions for the droplet dynamics, can greatly affect the simulation results for droplet deformation and evolvement. Recently, the dynamic contact angle (DCA) model implemented with Hoffman function has been successfully validated in the simulation of droplet impact on surfaces. In this paper, the Hoffman function is further applied to simulate liquid water slug flow in a straight microchannel with the volume of fluid (VOF) method. It is found that the numerical results are difficult to well match the corresponding experimental results under the same reported experimental conditions. However, the numerical results with lower gas inlet velocity can significantly improve the comparison. It is indicated that the DCA model coupled with Hoffman function has limitations in the simulation of liquid water behaviors with surrounding flows and needs to be further developed. In addition, a series of numerical simulations are conducted with different air inlet velocities, surface tensions, and viscosities to investigate the effects of these factors on the droplet behaviors. The technical challenges in the current research progress for DCA simulation with Hoffman function and the VOF method are also proposed and discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical challenges in numerical simulation of droplet behaviors with dynamic contact angle in microchannels

2019

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“…The polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell has received considerable attention due to its many advantages, including zero/low emissions, high power density, low operating temperature, and a broad range of applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The PEM fuel cell generates electricity and by-product water through the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Ferreira et al extensively reviewed the volume of fluid (VOF) numerical simulations of two-phase flow in PEM fuel cells [7]. These numerical simulations can be classified as one of the following categories; a study on the behavior of liquid water initially in the GCs or emerging uniformly from the GDL surfaces, a study on the droplet development behavior emerging from micro pores on the GDL surfaces, a study on the effect of the GDL microstructure, a study on the impact of the two-phase flow in the fuel cell performance, and a study on novel GDL/GC designs [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

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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.

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“…In recent years the improvements in computational efficiency made computer simulations a common design tool in the engineering disciplines. However, traditional CFD (computational fluid dynamics) tools like the volume of fluid (VOF) method [16,17] have their limitations in the simulation of multiphase flow in complex geometries. In recent years the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) [18][19][20] became increasingly popular for this class of problems because it is easy to implement and scales favorably.…”

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confidence: 99%

Characterization of gas diffusion electrodes for metal-air batteries

Danner

Eswara

Schulz

et al. 2016

Journal of Power Sources

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Gas diffusion electrodes are commonly used in high energy density metalair batteries for the supply of oxygen. Hydrophobic binder materials ensure the coexistence of gas and liquid phase in the pore network. The phase distribution has a strong influence on transport processes and electrochemical reactions. In this article we present 2D and 3D Rothman-Keller type multiphase Lattice-Boltzmann models which take into account the hetero- for an efficient development of improved gas diffusion electrodes.

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Numerical simulations of two-phase flow in proton exchange membrane fuel cells using the volume of fluid method – A review

Cited by 136 publications

References 88 publications

Technical challenges in numerical simulation of droplet behaviors with dynamic contact angle in microchannels

Technical challenges in numerical simulation of droplet behaviors with dynamic contact angle in microchannels

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

Characterization of gas diffusion electrodes for metal-air batteries

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