Liquid water transport mechanism in the gas diffusion layer

We developed an equivalent capillary model of a microscale fiber-fence structure to study the microscale evolution and transport of liquid in a porous media and to reveal the basic principles of water transport in gas diffusion layer (GDL). Analytical solutions using the model show that a positive hydraulic pressure is needed to drive the liquid water to penetrate through the porous GDL even consisting of the hydrophilic fibers. Several possible contributions for the water configuration, such as capillary pressure, gravity, vapor condensation, wettability and microstructures of the GDL, are discussed using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). It is found that the distribution manners of the fibers and the spatial mixed-wettability in the GDL also play an important role in the transport of liquid water.

[1]  Kazuhiko Suga,et al.  An investigation of water-gas transport processes in the gas-diffusion-layer of a PEM fuel cell by a multiphase multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann model , 2007 .

[2]  Mark Pritzker,et al.  Capillary pressure and hydrophilic porosity in gas diffusion layers for polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2006 .

[3]  B. Yi,et al.  Performance of PEMFC stack using expanded graphite bipolar plates , 2006 .

[4]  D. Peng,et al.  A New Two-Constant Equation of State , 1976 .

[5]  Tae-Hee Lee,et al.  A study on the characteristics of the diffusion layer thickness and porosity of the PEMFC , 2004 .

[6]  Andrew Dicks,et al.  The role of carbon in fuel cells , 2006 .

[7]  J. Bear.  Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media , 1975 .

[8]  Xianguo Li,et al.  Application of lattice Boltzmann method to a micro-scale flow simulation in the porous electrode of a PEM fuel cell , 2007 .

[9]  T. Fuller,et al.  Water and Thermal Management in Solid‐Polymer‐Electrolyte Fuel Cells , 1993 .

[10]  A. Shukla,et al.  Diffusion layer parameters influencing optimal fuel cell performance , 2000 .

[11]  Chen,et al.  Simulation of multicomponent fluids in complex three-dimensional geometries by the lattice Boltzmann method. , 1996, Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics.

[12]  Chaoyang Wang,et al.  Phase Change in a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell , 2009 .

[13]  Aimy Bazylak,et al.  Liquid water visualization in PEM fuel cells: A review , 2009 .

[14]  Yannis Kevrekidis,et al.  Drops, slugs, and flooding in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells , 2008 .

[15]  Xianguo Li,et al.  Multi-phase micro-scale flow simulation in the electrodes of a PEM fuel cell by lattice Boltzmann method , 2008 .

[16]  C. Ziegler,et al.  Validity of two-phase polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell models with respect to the gas diffusion layer , 2009 .

[17]  Xianguo Li,et al.  An experimental and numerical investigation on the cross flow through gas diffusion layer in a PEM fuel cell with a serpentine flow channel , 2007 .

[18]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Pore-network modeling of liquid water transport in gas diffusion layer of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell , 2007 .

[19]  John Banhart,et al.  High-resolution in-plane investigation of the water evolution and transport in PEM fuel cells , 2009 .

[20]  Laura Schaefer,et al.  Equations of state in a lattice Boltzmann model , 2006 .

[21]  Kendra V. Sharp,et al.  On the effectiveness of Leverett approach for describing the water transport in fuel cell diffusion media , 2007 .

[22]  Koji Moriyama,et al.  An approach to modeling two-phase transport in the gas diffusion layer of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell , 2008 .

[23]  Partha P. Mukherjee,et al.  Impact of GDL structure and wettability on water management in polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2007 .

[24]  Jin Hyun Nam,et al.  Effective diffusivity and water-saturation distribution in single- and two-layer PEMFC diffusion medium , 2003 .

[25]  David Blackwell,et al.  Water flow in the gas diffusion layer of PEM fuel cells , 2005 .

[26]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Liquid water transport in a mixed-wet gas diffusion layer of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell , 2008 .

[27]  Ralph E. White,et al.  A water and heat management model for proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells , 1993 .

[28]  J. Pharoah.  On the permeability of gas diffusion media used in PEM fuel cells , 2005 .

[29]  Feng-Yuan Zhang,et al.  Liquid Water Removal from a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell , 2006 .

[30]  S. Dutta,et al.  Numerical prediction of mass-exchange between cathode and anode channels in a PEM fuel cell , 2001 .

[31]  Characterization of internal wetting in polymer electrolyte membrane gas diffusion layers , 2009 .

[32]  J. Banhart,et al.  Cross-sectional insight in the water evolution and transport in polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2008 .

[33]  Shan,et al.  Simulation of nonideal gases and liquid-gas phase transitions by the lattice Boltzmann equation. , 1994, Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics.

[34]  Zanetti,et al.  Use of the Boltzmann equation to simulate lattice gas automata. , 1988, Physical review letters.

[35]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Effects of hydrophobic polymer content in GDL on power performance of a PEM fuel cell , 2004 .

[36]  Hubert A. Gasteiger,et al.  Handbook of fuel cells : fundamentals technology and applications , 2003 .