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Visualization of liquid water in a lung-inspired flow-field based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell via neutron radiography

Author

Listed:
  • Cho, J.I.S.
  • Neville, T.P.
  • Trogadas, P.
  • Meyer, Q.
  • Wu, Yunsong
  • Ziesche, R.
  • Boillat, P.
  • Cochet, M.
  • Manzi-Orezzoli, V.
  • Shearing, P.
  • Brett, D.J.L.
  • Coppens, M.-O.

Abstract

Lung-inspired, fractal flow-fields hold great potential in improving the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) by providing uniform gas distribution across the electrodes and ensuring minimum entropy production in the whole system. However, the inherent susceptibility of the fractal flow-fields to flooding renders their use inadequate at high humidity conditions. In-depth understanding of water management in lung-inspired flow-fields is indispensable for the implementation of alternative outlet channel geometries or engineered water removal strategies to alleviate flooding. Here, liquid water formation and transport across the lung-inspired and serpentine flow-field based PEMFCs are evaluated using neutron radiography. The results reveal a propensity to flooding in the interdigitated outlet channels of the fractal flow-field with N = 4 generations as a result of slow gas velocity and narrow channel dimensions, which leads to significant performance deterioration. Neutron images also elucidate the importance of ensuring a well-defined internal channel structure of the fractal flow-fields to prevent backflow of liquid water via wicking and capillary pressure build-up arising from the narrow inlet gas channels and hydrophobic gas diffusion layer.

Suggested Citation

  • Cho, J.I.S. & Neville, T.P. & Trogadas, P. & Meyer, Q. & Wu, Yunsong & Ziesche, R. & Boillat, P. & Cochet, M. & Manzi-Orezzoli, V. & Shearing, P. & Brett, D.J.L. & Coppens, M.-O., 2019. "Visualization of liquid water in a lung-inspired flow-field based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell via neutron radiography," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 14-21.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:170:y:2019:i:c:p:14-21
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.12.143
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yulin Wang & Xiangling Liao & Guokun Liu & Haokai Xu & Chao Guan & Huixuan Wang & Hua Li & Wei He & Yanzhou Qin, 2023. "Review of Flow Field Designs for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-54, May.
    2. Wang, Yulin & Wang, Xiaoai & Fan, Yuanzhi & He, Wei & Guan, Jinglei & Wang, Xiaodong, 2022. "Numerical Investigation of Tapered Flow Field Configurations for Enhanced Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PA).
    3. Huang, Haozhong & Liu, Mingxin & Li, Xuan & Guo, Xiaoyu & Wang, Tongying & Li, Songwei & Lei, Han, 2022. "Numerical simulation and visualization study of a new tapered-slope serpentine flow field in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    4. Suárez, Christian & Iranzo, Alfredo & Toharias, Baltasar & Rosa, Felipe, 2022. "Experimental and numerical Investigation on the design of a bioinspired PEM fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    5. Guo, Hang & Zhao, Qiang & Ye, Fang, 2022. "An experimental study on gas and liquid two-phase flow in orientated-type flow channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells by using a side-view method," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 603-618.
    6. Zhao, Junjie & Tu, Zhengkai & Chan, Siew Hwa, 2022. "In-situ measurement of humidity distribution and its effect on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    7. Iranzo, A. & Arredondo, C.H. & Kannan, A.M. & Rosa, F., 2020. "Biomimetic flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: A review of design trends," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    8. Yang, Zirong & Du, Qing & Jia, Zhiwei & Yang, Chunguang & Jiao, Kui, 2019. "Effects of operating conditions on water and heat management by a transient multi-dimensional PEMFC system model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 462-476.

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