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Numerical Investigation of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow inside PEMFC Gas Channels with Rectangular and Trapezoidal Cross Sections

Author

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  • Jin Hyun Kim

    (Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, 1223-24 Cheonan Daero, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan 31080, Chungnam, Korea)

  • Woo Tae Kim

    (Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, 1223-24 Cheonan Daero, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan 31080, Chungnam, Korea)

Abstract

The dynamics of liquid water in the gas channels with rectangular sections (REC), trapezoidal sections with open angles of 60 degrees (T60), and trapezoidal sections with open angles of 72 degrees (T72) are numerically investigated via the volume of fluid method. The effects of the contact angle of the top and side walls (CATS), the water inlet configuration, and the air inlet velocity are studied based on the temporal evolution of gas-liquid interface, the water volume fraction (WVF), the water coverage ratio of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface (GWCR), and the pressure drop between the air inlet and the outlet. For the hydrophobic GDL surface and the hydrophilic top and side walls, the T72 provides the lowest WVF and GWCR of around 7 percent due to periodic pressure spikes. The REC and T60 show a higher WVF and a lower GWCR as most of liquid water moves along the channel while attached to the top wall. As the CATS increases from 60 to 120 degrees, the behaviors of liquid water become similar for the three cross-sectional shapes. The T72 shows especially similar results irrespective of the CATS. When the liquid water emergence is concentrated along the side wall, the T72 shows the best water removal characteristics. For all the three channel cross-sectional shapes, water slugs move faster and have smaller sizes as the air inlet velocity increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Jin Hyun Kim & Woo Tae Kim, 2018. "Numerical Investigation of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow inside PEMFC Gas Channels with Rectangular and Trapezoidal Cross Sections," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:6:p:1403-:d:149797
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nguyen Duy Vinh & Hyung-Man Kim, 2016. "Comparison of Numerical and Experimental Studies for Flow-Field Optimization Based on Under-Rib Convection in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Jin Hyun Kim & Gwang Goo Lee & Woo Tae Kim, 2017. "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," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Cheng Wang & Shubo Wang & Linfa Peng & Junliang Zhang & Zhigang Shao & Jun Huang & Chunwen Sun & Minggao Ouyang & Xiangming He, 2016. "Recent Progress on the Key Materials and Components for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells in Vehicle Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-39, July.
    4. Hossain, Mamdud & Islam, Sheikh Zahidul & Colley-Davies, Amy & Adom, Ebenezer, 2013. "Water dynamics inside a cathode channel of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 763-779.
    5. Sun-Joon Byun & Zhen Huan Wang & Jun Son & Dong-Kurl Kwak & Young-Chul Kwon, 2018. "Experimental Study on Improvement of Performance by Wave Form Cathode Channels in a PEM Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-14, February.
    6. Yanzhou Qin & Xuefeng Wang & Rouxian Chen & Xiang Shangguan, 2018. "Water Transport and Removal in PEMFC Gas Flow Channel with Various Water Droplet Locations and Channel Surface Wettability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, April.
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    1. Xiong, Kangning & Wu, Wei & Wang, Shuangfeng & Zhang, Lin, 2021. "Modeling, design, materials and fabrication of bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cell: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    2. Liu, Lina & Guo, Lingyi & Zhang, Ruiyuan & Chen, Li & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2021. "Numerically investigating two-phase reactive transport in multiple gas channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    3. Ikechukwu S. Anyanwu & Yuze Hou & Wenmiao Chen & Fengwen Pan & Qing Du & Jin Xuan & Kui Jiao, 2019. "Numerical Investigation of Liquid Water Transport Dynamics in Novel Hybrid Sinusoidal Flow Channel Designs for PEMFC," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Ikechukwu S. Anyanwu & Zhiqiang Niu & Daokuan Jiao & Aezid-Ul-Hassan Najmi & Zhi Liu & Kui Jiao, 2020. "Liquid Water Transport Behavior at GDL-Channel Interface of a Wave-Like Channel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, May.

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