Water flooding and two-phase flow in cathode channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Li, Xuan; Guo, Hang; Ma, Chongfang

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.06.027

Cited by 164 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Therefore, the cell performance is enhanced in the microgravity condition because the flooded area in the flow channel is repeatedly exposed to the reactant gas. Several publications proved that enhancing the reactant gas transport can improve PEMFC performance [14,21]. However, the cell performance in the microgravity conditions is only 4.6% higher than that in normal gravity conditions.…”

Section: Inlet Outletmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Visualization method is an effective way to observe the two-phase flow, which has been used for tube [15] or minichannel [16] recently. Researchers have studied the two-phase flow caused by liquid water inside PEMFCs by using the direct visualization method and transparent PEMFCs [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Yang et al [19] applied an optical PEMFC to study the mechanics of liquid water transport.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their transparent fuel cell, the main mechanisms of liquid water removal were water droplet coalescence and water droplet migration along the hydrophilic surfaces of the gas channel. Liu et al [21] investigated the water flooding and two-phase flow behavior in the cathode side of transparent PEMFCs. Three types of flow fields, namely, parallel flow field, interdigitated flow field, and cascade flow field, were used in their study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Experimental study of two-phase flow in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell in short-term microgravity condition

Guo

Zhao

et al. 2014

Applied Energy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

h i g h l i g h t sTwo-phase flow in PEMFC cathode channels is observed in different gravity environments. The PEMFC shows different operating behavior in normal and microgravity conditions. Water tends can be removed in microgravity conditions at high water production regime. Liquid aggregation occurs in microgravity conditions at low water production regime. Effect of gravity on performance and two-phase flow at two operating regimes is studied. a r t i c l e i n f o t r a c tWater management is important for improving the performance and stability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) for space applications. An in situ visual observation was conducted on the gasliquid two-phase flow in the cathode channels of a PEMFC in short-term microgravity condition. The microgravity environment was supplied by a drop tower. A single serpentine flow channel with a depth of 2 mm and a width of 2 mm was applied as the cathode flow field. A membrane electrode assembly comprising of a Nafion 112 membrane sandwiched between gas diffusion layers was used. The anode and cathode were loaded with 1 mg cm À2 platinum. The PEMFC shows a distinct operating behavior in microgravity because of the effect of gravity on the two-phase flow. At a high water production regime, cell performance is enhanced by 4.6% and the accumulated liquid water in the flow channel tends can be removed in microgravity conditions to alleviate flooding. At a low water production regime, cell performance deteriorates by 6.6% and liquid aggregation occurs in the flow channel because of the coalescence of dispersed water droplets in microgravity conditions, thus squeezing the flow channel. The operating behavior of PEMFC in microgravity conditions is different from that in normal gravity conditions. Further studies are needed on PEMFC operating characteristics and liquid management for space applications.

show abstract

Section: Inlet Outletmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Experimental study of two-phase flow in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell in short-term microgravity condition

Guo

Zhao

et al. 2014

Applied Energy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, exceeding water can have a clogging/flooding effect because gases, mostly O2, need to diffuse correctly toward the active Pt conglomerates that are distributed in the electrodes, in order to make the electrochemical reaction possible. The influence of water on O2 diffusion can be observed through the pressure drop measurement technique, as studied in [20][21]. Other methods, aiming at observing in situ water behaviour, can also give a qualitative idea of the impact that water can have on O2 diffusion: visual measurements on transparent fuel cells as seen in [22][23], or neutron radiology [24][25].…”

Section: General Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steady state macroscopic model of the influence of water on the performances of a micro air-breathing fuel cell

Zeidan¹,

Turpin²,

Cantin³

et al. 2011

Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To cite this version:M. Zeidan, Ch. Turpin, F. Cantin, S. Astier. Steady state macroscopic model of the influence of water on the performances of a micro air-breathing fuel cell. European Physical Journal: Applied Physics, EDP Sciences, 2011, 54 (2) Model of the influence of water on a micro air-breathing fuel cell Abstract. Water management is one of the most crucial issues to drive PEM fuel cells. The challenge is enhanced in the case of Micro Air-Breathing Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (µABFC): their thinness and their reduced surface indeed make their hydration state fast changing and very sensitive to the experimental conditions (temperature and Relative Humidity (RH)). It can lead to strong flooding or drying out issues. Firstly, this study highlights this sensitivity by various measurements. Then a steady state macroscopic model for the µABFC is proposed, focusing on the cathode, using a rather original approach for diffusion in porous media. Finally, a literal steady state formula for the water content is provided, and its influences on the performances of the µABFC are explicitly proposed. The model is parameterized and compared to measures in several atmospheric conditions.

show abstract

“…The limitation(s) for each type of fuel cells are separately presented to recognize which of these fuel cells that has more promising potential to be exploited and what are the remarkable limitation(s) in route to commercialize fuel cell technologies. [4,5,6,7,8,9]. These all researches were done by experimental and simulation model.…”

Section: Limitations For Each Type Of Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of Commercializing Fuel Cell Technologies

Nordin

Wahid

Samion³

et al. 2010

AIP Conference Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Water flooding and two-phase flow in cathode channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Cited by 164 publications

References 27 publications

Experimental study of two-phase flow in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell in short-term microgravity condition

Experimental study of two-phase flow in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell in short-term microgravity condition

Steady state macroscopic model of the influence of water on the performances of a micro air-breathing fuel cell

Limitations of Commercializing Fuel Cell Technologies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About