Study of water-flooding behaviour in cathode channel of a transparent proton-exchange membrane fuel cell

Weng, Fang-Bor; Su, Ay; Hsu, Chun-Ying; Lee, Chi‐Yuan

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2006.01.002

Cited by 85 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Ous and Arcoumanis [34] noted that increased airflow rate prevented droplet formation but reduced current due to membrane dehydration. Again, Weng et al [35] confirmed the beneficial effects of high cathode gas flow rates for water removal; however unhumidified cathode gas streams at high stoichiometry resulted in membrane dehydration. [36].…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels

Carton

Lawlor

Olabi

et al. 2012

Energy

238

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Effective water management is one of the key strategies for improving low temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell performance and durability. Phenomena such as membrane dehydration, catalyst layer flooding, mass transport and fluid flow regimes can be affected by the interaction, distribution and movement of water in flow plate channels.In this paper a literature review is completed in relation to PEM fuel cell water flooding. It is clear that droplet formation, movement and interaction with the Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) have been studied extensively. However slug formation and droplet accumulation in the flow channels has not been analysed in detail. In this study, a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model and Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is used to simulate water droplet movement and slug formation in PEM fuel cell mini-channels. In addition, water slug visualisation is recorded in ex situ PEM fuel cell mini-channels.Observation and simulation results are discussed with relation to slug formation and the implications to PEM fuel cell performance.

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mentioning

confidence: 97%

Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels

Carton

Lawlor

Olabi

et al. 2012

Energy

238

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“…Liu et al [29] compared three different flow-field patterns which are the parallel, interdigitated and cascade using a visualisation technique which reveals and proves the advantages of the interdigitated patterns in terms of having a better removal of the water capability as claimed by previous researchers [36]. By having a PEM fuel cell transparent design which is close to the normal PEM fuel cell design, thus having a comparable performance, some researchers [26,28,33] have investigated the water behavior by using typical shapes of the flow-field and typical sizes of the active area. A summary of the designs and dimensions which have been employed by other researchers is given in Table 2.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Zhang et al [30] Visualisation and investigation of the liquid water distribution on the cathode GDL surface and inside the channels. Weng et al [33] Visualisation and investigation of the water flooding at the cathode side. Liu et al [31] Visualisation of the liquid water and an investigation of the pressure drop influence in the anode and cathode channels.…”

Section: Rib Channelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transparent PEM Fuel Cells for Direct Visualisation Experiments

Rosli

Pourkashanian

Ingham

et al. 2009

ASME 2009 7th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology

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This paper reviews some of the previous research works on direct visualisation inside PEM fuel cells via a transparent single cell for the water behaviour investigation. Several papers which have employed the method have been selected and summarised and a comparison between the design of the cell, materials, methods and visual results are presented. The important aspects, advantages of the method and a summary on the previous work are discussed. Some initial work on transparent PEM fuel cell design using a single serpentine flowfield pattern is described. The results show that the direct visualisation via transparent PEM fuel cells could be one potential technique for investigating the water behavior inside the channels and a very promising way forward to provide useful data for validation in PEM fuel cell modelling and simulation. INTRODUCTIONThe proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device that converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electricity and heat by electrochemical redox reactions at the anode and the cathode of the cell, respectively. This procedure produces water as the only by-product [1]. There are several types of fuel cells and of which PEM fuel cells are the most popular ones. There have been several commercial opportunities for fuel cells that favour low temperature electrolytes, PEMs and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) with over 98% of the manufacturing being low temperature units [2]. In addition to its low emissions and quietness, the great advantage of PEM fuel cells are generally that they are more efficient than the combustion engine [3]. It operates at a very low temperature of about 80°C and this allows for a quick start-up. A survey reported that the end-use

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“…The water balance in the cathode is influenced by the hydrophobicity, porosity, and structure of the cathode. Several different approaches and models were proposed to manage the water in PEMFCs, such as new designs of gas channels [1][2][3], gas diffusion layers (GDL) [4][5][6], membranes [7][8][9][10], and single cell [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Using a micro-porous layer (MPL) to adjust the hydrophobicity of the electrode and to enhance the electrode performance has been widely adopted [19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Transient Model for Fuel Cell Cathode-Water Propagation Behavior inside a Cathode after a Step Potential

Chan

Hsueh

2010

Energies

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Abstract:Most of the voltage losses of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are due to the sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction on the cathode and the low oxygen diffusion rate inside the flooded cathode. To simulate the transient flooding in the cathode of a PEMFC, a transient model was developed. This model includes the material conservation of oxygen, vapor, water inside the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and micro-porous layer (MPL), and the electrode kinetics in the cathode catalyst layer (CL). The variation of hydrophobicity of each layer generated a wicking effect that moves water from one layer to the other. Since the GDL, MPL, and CL are made of composite materials with different hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, a linear function of saturation was used to calculate the wetting contact angle of these composite materials. The balance among capillary force, gas/liquid pressure, and velocity of water in each layer was considered. Therefore, the dynamic behavior of PEMFC, with saturation transportation taken into account, was obtained in this study. A step change of the cell voltage was used to illustrate the transient phenomena of output current, water movement, and diffusion of oxygen and water vapor across the entire cathode.

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Study of water-flooding behaviour in cathode channel of a transparent proton-exchange membrane fuel cell

Cited by 85 publications

References 8 publications

Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels

Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels

Transparent PEM Fuel Cells for Direct Visualisation Experiments

A Transient Model for Fuel Cell Cathode-Water Propagation Behavior inside a Cathode after a Step Potential

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