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Liquid Water Transport in Porous Metal Foam Flow-Field Fuel Cells: A Two-Phase Numerical Modelling and Ex-Situ Experimental Study

Author

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  • Ashley Fly

    (Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Kyoungyoun Kim

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon 34158, South Korea)

  • John Gordon

    (Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Daniel Butcher

    (Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Rui Chen

    (Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) using porous metallic foam flow-field plates have been demonstrated as an alternative to conventional rib and channel designs, showing high performance at high currents. However, the transport of liquid product water through metal foam flow-field plates in PEMFC conditions is not well understood, especially at the individual pore level. In this work, ex-situ experiments are conducted to visualise liquid water movement within a metal foam flow-field plate, considering hydrophobicity, foam pore size and air flow rate. A two-phase numerical model is then developed to further investigate the fundamental water transport behaviour in porous metal foam flow-field plates. Both the experimental and numerical work demonstrate that unlike conventional PEMFC channels, air flow rate does not have a strong influence on water removal due to the high surface tensions between the water and foam pore ligaments. A hydrophobic foam was seen to transport liquid water away from the initial injection point faster than a hydrophilic foam. In ex-situ tests, liquid water forms and maintains a random preferential pathway until the flow-field edge is reached. These results suggest that controlled foam hydrophobicity and pore size is the best way of managing water distribution in PEMFCs with porous flow-field plates.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashley Fly & Kyoungyoun Kim & John Gordon & Daniel Butcher & Rui Chen, 2019. "Liquid Water Transport in Porous Metal Foam Flow-Field Fuel Cells: A Two-Phase Numerical Modelling and Ex-Situ Experimental Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:7:p:1186-:d:217455
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sasmito, Agus P. & Kurnia, Jundika C. & Mujumdar, Arun S., 2012. "Numerical evaluation of various gas and coolant channel designs for high performance liquid-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 278-291.
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    Cited by:

    1. García-Salaberri, Pablo A. & Perego, Andrea & Wu, Rui & Zenyuk, Iryna V., 2025. "Boosting the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with porous flow fields: Pros and cons," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    2. Bao, Zhiming & Niu, Zhiqiang & Jiao, Kui, 2020. "Gas distribution and droplet removal of metal foam flow field for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    3. Jin-Soo Park, 2021. "Hydrogen-Based Energy Conversion: Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells and Electrolysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-2, August.
    4. 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.
    5. Lifen Zhang & Xiaoxue Zhang & Zhenxia Liu, 2020. "An Efficient Numerical Method for Pressure Loss Investigation in an Oil/Air Separator with Metal Foam in an Aero-Engine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
    6. Zhang, Lu & Liu, Jie & Du, Shaojie & Zhao, Chen, 2024. "Multiphase flow dynamics in metal foam proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).

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