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A review of cell-scale multiphase flow modeling, including water management, in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

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  • Andersson, M.
  • Beale, S.B.
  • Espinoza, M.
  • Wu, Z.
  • Lehnert, W.

Abstract

The PEFC has emerged as the most viable fuel cell type for automotive and some portable applications, and also has potential back-up power unit applications due to its low operating temperature, comparative simplicity of construction, high power density, and ease of operation. In spite of tremendous scientific advances, as well as engineering progress over the last few decades, the commercialization of PEFCs remains unrealized, owing primarily to economic viability associated with the high prices of materials and components and technical problems relating primarily to water management. The difficulty in addressing the water management issues lies mostly in the two-phase multi-component flow involving phase-change in porous media, coupled heat and mass transfer, interactions between the porous layers and gas channel (GC) and the complex relationship between water content and cell performance. Due to the low temperature of operation, water generated by the electrochemical reactions often condenses into liquid form, potentially flooding the gas diffusion layer (GDL), GC or other components. Insight into the fundamental processes of liquid water evolution and transport is still lacking, preventing further enhanced PEFC development.

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  • Andersson, M. & Beale, S.B. & Espinoza, M. & Wu, Z. & Lehnert, W., 2016. "A review of cell-scale multiphase flow modeling, including water management, in polymer electrolyte fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 757-778.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:180:y:2016:i:c:p:757-778
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.010
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    4. Ferreira, Rui B. & Falcão, D.S. & Oliveira, V.B. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2017. "1D+3D two-phase flow numerical model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 474-495.
    5. Yan, Xiaohui & Lin, Chen & Zheng, Zhifeng & Chen, Junren & Wei, Guanghua & Zhang, Junliang, 2020. "Effect of clamping pressure on liquid-cooled PEMFC stack performance considering inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
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    7. Lin, Chen & Yan, Xiaohui & Wei, Guanghua & Ke, Changchun & Shen, Shuiyun & Zhang, Junliang, 2019. "Optimization of configurations and cathode operating parameters on liquid-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks by orthogonal method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Soopee, Asif & Sasmito, Agus P. & Shamim, Tariq, 2019. "Water droplet dynamics in a dead-end anode proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 300-311.
    9. Wong, A.K.C. & Ge, N. & Shrestha, P. & Liu, H. & Fahy, K. & Bazylak, A., 2019. "Polytetrafluoroethylene content in standalone microporous layers: Tradeoff between membrane hydration and mass transport losses in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 549-560.
    10. Xu, Liangfei & Fang, Chuan & Li, Jianqiu & Ouyang, Minggao & Lehnert, Werner, 2018. "Nonlinear dynamic mechanism modeling of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with dead-ended anode considering mass transport and actuator properties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 106-121.
    11. Zhang, S. & Reimer, U. & Beale, S.B. & Lehnert, W. & Stolten, D., 2019. "Modeling polymer electrolyte fuel cells: A high precision analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 1094-1103.
    12. Suprava Chakraborty & Devaraj Elangovan & Karthikeyan Palaniswamy & Ashley Fly & Dineshkumar Ravi & Denis Ashok Sathia Seelan & Thundil Karuppa Raj Rajagopal, 2022. "A Review on the Numerical Studies on the Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Flow Channel Designs for Automotive Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-21, December.
    13. Purnima, P. & Jayanti, S., 2017. "Water neutrality and waste heat management in ethanol reformer - HTPEMFC integrated system for on-board hydrogen generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 169-179.
    14. Chowdhury, Mohammad Ziauddin & Timurkutluk, Bora, 2018. "Transport phenomena of convergent and divergent serpentine flow fields for PEMFC," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 104-117.
    15. Tsai, Shang-Wen & Chen, Yong-Song, 2017. "A mathematical model to study the energy efficiency of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a dead-ended anode," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 151-159.
    16. Wang, Luwen & Yuan, Zhaoxia & Wen, Fei & Cheng, Yuhua & Zhang, Yufeng & Wang, Gaofeng, 2018. "A bipolar passive DMFC stack for portable applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 587-593.
    17. Li, Wenkai & Zhang, Qinglei & Wang, Chao & Yan, Xiaohui & Shen, Shuiyun & Xia, Guofeng & Zhu, Fengjuan & Zhang, Junliang, 2017. "Experimental and numerical analysis of a three-dimensional flow field for PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 278-288.
    18. Lin, Zi & Liu, Xiaolei & Lao, Liyun & Liu, Hengxu, 2020. "Prediction of two-phase flow patterns in upward inclined pipes via deep learning," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    19. Rolando Pedicini & Marcello Romagnoli & Paolo E. Santangelo, 2023. "A Critical Review of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Systems for Automotive Applications: Components, Materials, and Comparative Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-28, March.
    20. Xing, Lei & Shi, Weidong & Su, Huaneng & Xu, Qian & Das, Prodip K. & Mao, Baodong & Scott, Keith, 2019. "Membrane electrode assemblies for PEM fuel cells: A review of functional graded design and optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 445-464.

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