Investigation of bio-inspired flow channel designs for bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Kloess, Jason P.; Wang, Xia; Liu, Joan; Shi, Zhongying; Guessous, Laila

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2008.11.123

Cited by 150 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The first approach is based on empirical alteration of the channel configurations (such as channel path length, 10 land width, 11,12 and land/channel ratio 13,14 ), whereas the second approach imitates the apparent structure of biological organisms. [15][16][17][18][19] The consensus to the first strategy is that the utilization of flow-fields with wider rib spacing, narrower and shorter channels and path length improves reactant distribution. 10,11,14 However, these modifications tend to result in lower membrane hydration and membrane conductivity, 13 a higher pressure drop 20 as well as ineffective water and heat management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A lung-inspired approach to scalable and robust fuel cell design

Trogadas

Cho

Neville

et al. 2018

Energy Environ. Sci.

157

179

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A lung-inspired approach is employed to overcome reactant homogeneity issues in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. The fractal geometry of the lung is used as the model to design flow-fields of different branching generations, resulting in uniform reactant distribution across the electrodes and minimum entropy production of the whole system. 3D printed, lung-inspired flow field based PEFCs with N = 4 generations outperform the conventional serpentine flow field designs at 50% and 75% RH, exhibiting a B20% and B30% increase in performance (at current densities higher than 0.8 A cm Broader contextFlow-field design is crucial to fuel cell performance, since non-uniform transport of species to and from the membrane-electrode assembly results in significant power losses. The long channels of conventional, serpentine flow fields cause large pressure drops between inlets and outlets, thus large parasitic energy losses and low fuel cell performance. This issue is exacerbated for small, portable fuel cells, where the power required for fluid transport should be minimal. To ensure uniform distribution of reactants across the electrode and a low pressure drop, we use a nature-inspired design that is rooted in thermodynamic and mechanical fundamentals, rather than biomimicry in a narrow sense. Inspiration is derived from the structure of the human lung, which ensures uniform gas distribution via an optimized fractal structure linking bronchi to alveoli, and realizing a remarkable combination of minimal entropy production, low pressure drop, and scale-invariant operation. Our 3D-printed, conducting flow-field plates maintain these unique characteristics of the lung, resulting in improved fuel cell performance over conventional serpentine flow-field based fuel cells. Uniformity in reactant distribution and minimal pressure drop are retained during scale-up, demonstrating the robustness of the proposed nature-inspired approach across length scales.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…without being fundamentally grounded in the underlying physical phenomena. [15][16][17][18][19] Lack of a formal mathematical description and a methodology to inform the design of such flow-fields leads to difficulties in reproducing those designs, optimizing their channel geometries and scaling them up.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A lung-inspired approach to scalable and robust fuel cell design

Trogadas

Cho

Neville

et al. 2018

Energy Environ. Sci.

157

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The stronger water removal capability of interdigitated designs led to a higher optimum reactant gas humidification temperature compared with serpentine. Recent bio inspired interdigitated designs (see Figure 4) by Kloess et al [14] have shown improved pressure distribution, decreased pressure loss and increased cell performance by up to 30% in peak power density when compared to single serpentine and standard interdigitated designs. This was Fig.…”

Section: Interdigitated Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Flow Field Plate: Design, Materials and Characterisation

2010

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Worldwide, there are growing pressures to develop 'carbonfree' societies, where the majority of the energy is produced from renewable technologies, due to climate change [1], adverse health effects [2], fuel resource depletion [3], security of energy supply, economics [4] and increasing tight international legislations [5]. In response to the above issues, many have proposed hydrogen for use as a replacement energy carrier in future energy economies as it produces no greenhouse gases, GHGs (e.g. CO 2 ) when burned or used in a fuel cell with only electricity, heat and water being formed. A fuel cell is an 'electrochemical' device operating at various temperatures (up to 1,000°C) that continuously and efficiently convert chemical energy (from fuel and oxidant) into electrical energy. There are various types of fuel cell including alkaline (AFC), phosphoric acid (PAFC), molten carbonate (MCFC), solid oxide (SOFC) and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) also known as the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with an efficiency of up to 60% and operating up to 180°C. There are two types of PEMFC: one uses hydrogen as a fuel and the other, methanol -direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). They both use membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) which is the heart of the PEM fuel cell where the electrochemical reactions occur. The MEA is a multilayered membrane consisting of a polymeric membrane sandwiched between catalyst layers and gas diffusion layers (GDLs). Currently, the most promising applications for PEM fuel cell are in the automotive sector with trials of buses, cars and motorcycles becoming increasingly common. Others applications include portable, stationary or backup power units. However, the cost, performance and durability still need to be improved if PEMFC is to become a viable alternative energy technology. For example, as 'a rule of thumb', flow field plates (FFPs) constitute 10% (7.7% for a 5 kWnet stack) of the total cost and more than 60% of the weight in PEM fuel cell stacks. For this reason, the weight, volume and cost of the fuel cell stack can be reduced significantly by improving the layout configuration of FFP and use of lightweight materials. Different combinations of materials, flowfield designs and fabrication techniques have been developed for FPPs to achieve the aforementioned functions efficiently, with the main scope of obtaining high performance and economic advantages. Introduction to Flow Field PlatesThe FPP, also known as the monopolar plate (in a single cell) and bipolar plate (BPP, when used in a stack), is one of the many important components of PEM fuel cell stacks as it supplies fuel and oxidant to the MEA, removes water, collects produced current and provides mechanical support for the single cells in the stack (Figure 1) AbstractThis review describes some recent developments in the area of flow field plates (FFPs) for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The function, parameters and design of FFPs in PEM fuel cells are outlined and considered in light of their ...

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“…Up to now, cost, durability, hydrogen storage and performance are the major barriers facing the full commercialization of PEMFC. The performance of PEMFC depends strongly on the characteristics of the membrane, gas diffusion layer (GDL), catalyst and operating parameters such as operating temperature, pressure, humidity, and mass flow rate of feed gases, channel geometries and design of the stack [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Membrane is the most important component of PEMFC [17]; it is a proton conductor between two electrode anode and cathode and yet pushes the electron to flow through the external circuit to produce useful electricity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%