Quasi-3D Modeling of Water Transport in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Kulikovsky, Andrei

doi:10.1149/1.1611489

Cited by 148 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…H 2 and O 2 concentration in the cell is solved by Fick's law, which is exact for binary gases but a good approximation for multicomponent gases, 22 with source terms corresponding to H 2 , and O 2 consumption in the electrodes Cathode catalyst layer :…”

Section: :9vmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of Nano Structured Thin Film (NSTF) Electrodes under Partially-Humidified Conditions

Sinha

Kongkanand

et al. 2011

J. Electrochem. Soc.

120

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3M's Nano Structured Thin Film (NSTF) electrode, being a core-shell catalyst, offers a novel mean to enhance the performance and lower Pt cost in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). In the present work, fuel cell performance of NSTF is reported and the underlying physics dictating NSTF behavior is probed. It was found that NSTF with 0.15 mg Pt /cm 2 Pt loading shows comparable performance to that of a conventional Pt/C electrode with 0.4 mg Pt /cm 2 loading in a highly humidified condition at 80 C. However, the NSTF performs poorly under dry conditions. A single-phase model was developed to elucidate the underlying phenomenon governing NSTF performance under partially-humidified conditions. NSTF proton conductivity as a function of relative humidity (RH) was determined and the model predictions were compared against a range of experimental data. Detailed results suggest that poor NSTF performance under dry operation is due to low proton conductivity over Pt surface, which reduces catalyst utilization. The importance of water management is highlighted to improve NSTF performance. The high cost of Pt in a fuel cell stack is one of the key barriers to the commercialization of fuel cell vehicle technology. Current state-of-the-art fuel cell vehicles use approximately 72-94 grams of Pt, but it has been estimated that a Pt loading of less than 15 g is required to achieve cost-competiveness with internal combustion engine technology.

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Section: :9vmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of Nano Structured Thin Film (NSTF) Electrodes under Partially-Humidified Conditions

Sinha

Kongkanand

et al. 2011

J. Electrochem. Soc.

120

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“…This renders them unsuitable as a basis for rapid testing of design options under a broad range of operating conditions of interest-a typical industrial requirement. Mathematical models and solution procedures using simplified models with reduced dimensions have been proposed to address this issue [5][6][7][8][9]. Although these approaches lead to a reduction in the time cost, no systematic study has been conducted to quantitatively assess the impact of the neglected Oxygen P Pore sat Saturation dimensionality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced-dimensional models for straight-channel proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Kim

Sui

Shah

2010

Journal of Power Sources

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a b s t r a c tA comprehensive description of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance includes the transport phenomena, phase change and electrochemical reaction inside the several components, which possess disparate characteristics and together form a complex three-dimensional geometry. Much of the modelling work in this area has, therefore, relied on the techniques of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) approach can, however, be prohibitively time consuming. Consequently, it is not the ideal basis for a rapid screening tool that operates under a wide range of design options and operating conditions. Mathematical models and solution procedures using simplified models with reduced dimensions have been proposed to address this issue. Such approaches are computationally efficient, but no systematic study has been conducted to qualitatively or quantitatively assess the impact of the neglected dimensionality on the accuracy of the resulting model. In this paper, we compare results from a hierarchy of reduced-dimensional models to the results from a comprehensive 3D CFD model for a single, straight-channel unit cell. The quality of the simulation results from reduced-dimensional models, including the cell voltage and the distributions of current density and relative humidity, are assessed. We demonstrate that the 2 + 1D approach, which includes mass transport in the 2D cross-section of the channel and membrane electrode assembly and integrates along the flow channel, is optimal in terms of both efficiency and accuracy. It provides a sound basis for a simulation tool that can be used in the early stages of a unit-cell design cycle.

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“…To address this issue, many models have been proposed, where the aspect ratio of cell layers are taken into account to decouple one dimension from the other(s). The so-called pseudo 2-D 14 and pseudo 3-D models 15,16 are obtained * Electrochemical Society Student Member. z E-mail: tersal@umich.edu with this approach.…”

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confidence: 99%

Computationally Efficient Pseudo-2D Non-Isothermal Modeling of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells with Two-Phase Phenomena

Goshtasbi

Pence

Ersal

2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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In this article, a computationally efficient pseudo-2D model for real-time dynamic simulations of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is developed with a specific focus on water and thermal management. The model accounts for temperature dynamics, two-phase flow and flooding in the diffusion media, and membrane water crossover as well as absorption and desorption processes. Computational efficiency is achieved by leveraging the disparate time scales within the system dynamics, in addition to exploiting the large aspect ratio of the cell layers to create a spatio-temporal decoupling. Taking advantage of such decoupling, the model yields a computationally efficient solution while providing detailed information about the state of water and temperature throughout the cell. Through this approach, the current implementation of the model is found to be about twice faster than real time. Moreover, a case study is carried out where different mechanisms contributing to overall water balance in the cell are investigated. The results are shown to be in qualitative agreement with published experimental data, thereby providing a preliminary validation of the modeling approach. Finally, using the modeling results, an equivalent electrical circuit model is proposed to help elucidate water transport inside various cell layers. Real-time estimation, prediction, and control of cell hydration and temperature distribution is essential for optimizing the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as well as avoiding critical conditions and mitigating cell degradation. These applications necessitate mathematical models that not only run in real time, but also incorporate the important physical phenomena related to water transport and thermal management. However, including such phenomena comes at the cost of higher computational requirements, resulting in a trade-off between model accuracy and computational speed, which must be carefully balanced based on the desired application. As a result of these competing requirements, developing mathematical models that achieve a balance between the needs for high fidelity and low computational demand remains an active area of research.Within the context of this paper, a fuel cell model is considered to have high fidelity if it incorporates the following phenomena: i) 3-D effects including anisotropic material properties 1-3 to resolve transport phenomena in all physical directions; ii) transient behavior; iii) detailed multistep hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics; 4,5 iv) multiphase flow in gas channels and porous media; v) non-isothermal effects; 6 and vi) multicomponent diffusion.7,8 A more detailed explanation of these considerations follows.In terms of dimensionality, 3-D models are of highest fidelity, because they are capable of capturing transport in both through-themembrane and along-the-channel directions and also account for the channel-land effects in the third dimension. Moreover, these models can easily in...

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Quasi-3D Modeling of Water Transport in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Cited by 148 publications

References 35 publications

Performance of Nano Structured Thin Film (NSTF) Electrodes under Partially-Humidified Conditions

Performance of Nano Structured Thin Film (NSTF) Electrodes under Partially-Humidified Conditions

Reduced-dimensional models for straight-channel proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Computationally Efficient Pseudo-2D Non-Isothermal Modeling of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells with Two-Phase Phenomena

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