2+1D modelling of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with glassy-carbon microstructures

Schumacher, Jürgen; Eller, Jens; Sartoris, Guido; Colinart, Thibaut; Seyfang, Bernhard C.

doi:10.1080/13873954.2011.642390

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Multi-physics modeling can be used to investigate the complex couplings between different transport processes and phase change reactions (including condensation-evaporation) in the PEM fuel cell [3,4,[8][9][10][11][12]. In order to simulate the cell behavior in a reliable and accurate way, a proper description of the relationship between the microstructure (including the morphology of the liquid water phase) and macro-homogeneous properties is urgently requested.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructure-property relationships in a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, Part II: pressure-induced water injection and liquid permeability

Holzer

Pecho

Schumacher

et al. 2017

Electrochimica Acta

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Keywords:Gas diffusion layer (GDL) X-ray tomographic microscopy anisotropy liquid permeability short-range effect (SRE) A B S T R A C TThe performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) strongly depends on a controlled water management within the porous layers. For this purpose we investigate liquid water transport in a commercial gas diffusion layer (SGL 25BA) on the pore scale. X-ray tomography experiments combined with pressure-induced water injection provide 3D images of the liquid water distribution inside the GDL at incremental pressure steps between 0 and 100 mbar.The breakthrough behavior of the liquid phase is highly anisotropic. In through-plane (tp) direction first bubble points appear at the outlet plane already at 5 mbar and the 'breakthrough' then evolves continuously over an extended pressure range up to > 30 mbar. For in-plane (ip) direction the breakthrough is discontinuous and takes place at 27 mbar. Simulations of the intrusion process reveal that the different breakthrough behaviors are mainly triggered by different ip-and tp-transport distances. Short tp-transport distances through the thin gas diffusion layer (ca. 100 mm) are responsible for the characteristic continuous tp-breakthrough behavior, which is thus attributed to a so-called shortrange effect.Dedicated methods for 3D-image analysis adapted to fibrous GDL microstructures were presented in part I. With these methods we quantify all microstructure characteristics that are relevant for liquid permeability. These characteristics of pore and liquid phases include size distributions of bulges and bottlenecks, connectivity, effective volume fractions, geodesic tortuosity, constrictivity and hydraulic radius. Quantitative relationships are established between these microstructure characteristics and the liquid permeability, which provide a better understanding of the underlying microstructure limitations for injection and liquid transport.For the in-plane direction the liquid permeability is limited to roughly a similar extent by tortuosity, constrictivity and effective volume fraction. In contrast, for through-plane direction relatively low volume fractions of the liquid phase put stronger limitations to the liquid permeability than tortuosity, constrictivity and hydraulic radius.The curves for relative permeability vs. saturation (and vs. capillary pressure, respectively) achieved from 3D-analysis reveal complex but characteristic (reproducible) shapes with concave, linear and convex segments. The shape of these segments can be attributed to distinct microstructure effects. In contrast, the conventional macroscopic descriptions from literature cannot capture these complex shapes and the underlying microstructure effects. Future investigations with different GDL materials are necessary in order to understand whether these complex shapes for the relative permeability represent a general feature of gas diffusion layers or if they are specific to the investigated SGL material.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructure-property relationships in a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, Part II: pressure-induced water injection and liquid permeability

Holzer

Pecho

Schumacher

et al. 2017

Electrochimica Acta

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“…Along-the-channel marching methods combined with MEA cross-section models have been extensively used to model complete cells [42,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61].…”

Section: Diagnostic Methods Are Critical To Analyze Cell Performance mentioning

confidence: 99%

Along-the-channel modeling and analysis of PEFCs at low stoichiometry: Development of a 1+2D model

Pant

Gerhardt

Macauley

et al. 2019

Electrochimica Acta

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Water management remains a key challenge in polymer-electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). In this work, a pseudo 3-D (1+2D) model is developed to account better for changes of water management along the channel, as well as verify the possibilities of using differential cells for data capture. An accurate 2-D membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) model is developed for differential cell modeling, which is combined with an along-the-channel stepping algorithm to account for down the channel changes in pressure, temperature, reactant concentration, and relative humidity. Variations in cell performance along the channel due to changes in operating conditions are characterized quantitatively and optimized. The 1+2D model is found to be critical at dry and low stoichiometry cell operations, where along the channel

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“…A different approach to modeling different cell regions is taken by Schumacher et al The gas channels are simulated individually, and the conditions at the surfaces of the GDLs are transmitted to a second model that calculates diffusion and electrochemistry [20].…”

Section: Literature Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Liquid Water Condensation in PEM Fuel Cells by Coupling CFD with 1D Models

Schmitz,

Matthiesen,

Dirkes

et al. 2024

Energies

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are a promising technology for future transportation applications. However, start-up procedures that are not optimized for low temperatures can lead to the early failure of the cells. Detailed CFD models can support the optimization of cold start procedures, but they often cannot be solved in a stable way due to their complexity. One-dimensional (1D) models can be calculated quickly but are simplified so that the behavior of the cells can no longer be determined accurately. In this contribution, a coupling between a 2D CFD model of the gas channels and a 1D model of the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) is realized. This method allows not only to determine the location and amount of the condensed water but also to calculate the exact concentration of the reactant gases along the channels. The investigations show that the concentrations of the gases and the relative humidities in the gas channels are strongly influenced by the current density. It has been found that it is not possible to avoid the formation of liquid water at low operating temperatures by controlling the current density.

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2+1D modelling of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with glassy-carbon microstructures

Abstract: International audienc

Cited by 10 publications

References 42 publications

Microstructure-property relationships in a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, Part II: pressure-induced water injection and liquid permeability

Microstructure-property relationships in a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, Part II: pressure-induced water injection and liquid permeability

Along-the-channel modeling and analysis of PEFCs at low stoichiometry: Development of a 1+2D model

Predicting Liquid Water Condensation in PEM Fuel Cells by Coupling CFD with 1D Models

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