Effect of the porosity distribution on the liquid water transport in the gas diffusion layer of PEMFC

Shangguan, Xiang; Li, Yu; Qin, Yanzhou; Cao, Shibo; Yin, Yan

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2021.137814

Cited by 60 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Due to the similar area weight of MPL, the GDL-C and GDL-G reveal similar pore sizes in the range of 20 nm to 1 μm. It is known that pores in MPS are mainly larger than 10 μm. , As shown in the range of 10–200 μm, these two samples reveal the same maximum at ∼55 μm. However, the pore volume of GDL-G is higher than that of the GDL-C.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Optimizing the Mass-Transfer Efficiency of a Microporous Layer for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2021

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To facilitate mass transfer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), carbon-based gel was used to fabricate micron-scale ordered indentations on the surface of the microporous layer (MPL). The high viscosity of carbon-based gel prevented the intrusion of slurry into the pores of macroporous substrate (MPS), providing more space for rapid mass transfer in the gas diffusion layer (GDL). The direction of ordered indentations was perpendicular to the direction of gas channels, working as an additional flow field at the interface of the catalyst layer and MPL. Besides, the indentations reduced the distance for water removal, providing an excellent water management efficiency. From measurements, the maximum power density of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) containing homemade GDL was 8.5% higher than that of MEA containing commercial GDL. Cyclic compressive loading on MEAs was carried out to in situ evaluate the correlation between mechanical degradation and mass-transfer efficiency. After being compressed five times, the mass-transfer efficiency of MEA containing homemade GDL was stable, but the MEA containing commercial GDL degraded seriously. From the structure and composition analysis, it is that commercial GDL revealed deformation of structure and a serious loss of hydrophobic materials after cyclic compressive loading. In contrast, the homemade GDL revealed high mechanical stability. In summary, this structural design of GDL is a promising strategy to improve the property of MEA for high-performance PEMFCs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Optimizing the Mass-Transfer Efficiency of a Microporous Layer for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2021

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“…The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method [18], pore network (PN) model [19], and lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) [20] are currently the most popular numerical methods. The VOF method is widely applied to study the two-phase flow in GDLs [21,22]. However, the VOF method is limited in modeling the nanoscale flow where the assumption of fluid continuity is not validated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pore-Scale Investigation of Coupled Two-Phase and Reactive Transport in the Cathode Electrode of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Hou

et al. 2022

Trans. Tianjin Univ.

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A three-dimensional multicomponent multiphase lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) is established to model the coupled two-phase and reactive transport phenomena in the cathode electrode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The gas diffusion layer (GDL) and microporous layer (MPL) are stochastically reconstructed with the inside dynamic distribution of oxygen and liquid water resolved, and the catalyst layer is simplified as a superthin layer to address the electrochemical reaction, which provides a clear description of the flooding effect on mass transport and performance. Different kinds of electrodes are reconstructed to determine the optimum porosity and structure design of the GDL and MPL by comparing the transport resistance and performance under the flooding condition. The simulation results show that gradient porosity GDL helps to increase the reactive area and average concentration under flooding. The presence of the MPL ensures the oxygen transport space and reaction area because liquid water cannot transport through micropores. Moreover, the MPL helps in the uniform distribution of oxygen for an efficient in-plane transport capacity. Crack and perforation structures can accelerate the water transport in the assembly. The systematic perforation design yields the best performance under flooding by separating the transport of liquid water and oxygen.

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“…It was observed that implementing a hybrid hydrophobic area of GDL under channels enhances water management. The effect of GDL structure on water management was investigated by Shangguan et al [22]. They reconstructed the geometry o GDL based on the stochastic parameter method.…”

Section: -Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cathode Side Transport Phenomena Investigation and Multi-Objective Optimization of a Tapered Parallel Flow Field PEMFC

Jabbary

Ghasabehi

Shams

2022

Preprint

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A Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) provides stable, emission-free, high-efficiency power. Water management and durability of PEMFCs are directly affected by transport phenomena at the cathode side. In the present study, transport phenomena are investigated and optimized in a tapered parallel flow field. Main channels in the flow field are tapered, which increases limiting current density by 41%. Two objectives, i.e. water saturation and transport resistance, are considered metrics for transport phenomena in a tapered parallel flow field PEMFC. Operating pressure, temperature, stoichiometries at both sides, and the porosity of gas diffusion layers are selected as parameters to be optimized. Two functions are generated for objectives by integrating 3D multiphase-flow computational fluid dynamics and Response Surface Methodology. Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) is carried out with two different methods. Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) are employed to produce two challenging Pareto fronts. The results demonstrate that MOPSO performs better than NSGA-II. MOPSO recognized quite the same Pareto front with lower runtime. In the last step, the Technique of Order Preference Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used to select an optimum point from the Pareto front. The results are compared against experimental data, and good correspondence is observed. The optimum features are temperature 323, pressure 1 atm, anode stoichiometry 3, cathode stoichiometry 2.62, and porosity 0.68. The porosity and pressure played the most significant roles in determining water saturation and resistance.

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Effect of the porosity distribution on the liquid water transport in the gas diffusion layer of PEMFC

Cited by 60 publications

References 30 publications

Optimizing the Mass-Transfer Efficiency of a Microporous Layer for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Optimizing the Mass-Transfer Efficiency of a Microporous Layer for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Pore-Scale Investigation of Coupled Two-Phase and Reactive Transport in the Cathode Electrode of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Cathode Side Transport Phenomena Investigation and Multi-Objective Optimization of a Tapered Parallel Flow Field PEMFC

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