IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v120y2017icp478-487.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Numerical investigation on double gas diffusion backing layer functionalized on water removal in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Author

Listed:
  • Kong, Im Mo
  • Jung, Aeri
  • Kim, Young Sang
  • Kim, Min Soo

Abstract

Since flooding is a limiting factor of cell performance in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), it is important to remove produced water effectively from GDL. In this study, a multi-layer GDL containing single micro porous layer (MPL) and double gas diffusion backing layer (GDBL) was introduced as a practical design and the effect of porosity and/or hydrophobicity of GDBL on water removal was investigated with one-dimensional steady-state model based on a capillary pressure–saturation relationship. The results shows that double GDBL with different porosity in a positive direction (GDBL with lower porosity near the MPL and GDBL with higher porosity near the flow channel) and/or different hydrophobicity in a negative direction (more hydrophobic GDBL near the MPL and less hydrophobic GDBL near the flow channel) enhances the water removal ability of the GDL compared with uniform single GDBL. Based on the results, the property arrangements of double GDBL were optimized to minimize the amount of liquid water remaining in GDL. It is expected that the amount of produced water remaining in ML-GDL can be reduced about 9.2% with optimized porosity arrangement and 5.6% with optimized hydrophobicity arrangement.

Suggested Citation

  • Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Young Sang & Kim, Min Soo, 2017. "Numerical investigation on double gas diffusion backing layer functionalized on water removal in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 478-487.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:120:y:2017:i:c:p:478-487
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.11.100
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054421631739X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2016.11.100?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carton, J.G. & Lawlor, V. & Olabi, A.G. & Hochenauer, C. & Zauner, G., 2012. "Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 63-73.
    2. Wang, Yun & Chen, Ken S. & Mishler, Jeffrey & Cho, Sung Chan & Adroher, Xavier Cordobes, 2011. "A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Technology, applications, and needs on fundamental research," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 981-1007, April.
    3. Park, Jae Wan & Jiao, Kui & Li, Xianguo, 2010. "Numerical investigations on liquid water removal from the porous gas diffusion layer by reactant flow," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(7), pages 2180-2186, July.
    4. Huang, Yu-Xian & Cheng, Chin-Hsiang & Wang, Xiao-Dong & Jang, Jiin-Yuh, 2010. "Effects of porosity gradient in gas diffusion layers on performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 4786-4794.
    5. Roshandel, R. & Farhanieh, B. & Saievar-Iranizad, E., 2005. "The effects of porosity distribution variation on PEM fuel cell performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1557-1572.
    6. Jiao, Kui & Park, Jaewan & Li, Xianguo, 2010. "Experimental investigations on liquid water removal from the gas diffusion layer by reactant flow in a PEM fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(9), pages 2770-2777, September.
    7. Oh, Hwanyeong & Park, Jaeman & Min, Kyoungdoug & Lee, Eunsook & Jyoung, Jy-Young, 2015. "Effects of pore size gradient in the substrate of a gas diffusion layer on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 186-193.
    8. Appleby, A.J., 1996. "Fuel cell technology: Status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 521-653.
    9. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Min Soo, 2016. "Investigations on the double gas diffusion backing layer for performance improvement of self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 149-156.
    10. Kong, Im Mo & Choi, Jong Won & Kim, Sung Il & Lee, Eun Sook & Kim, Min Soo, 2015. "Experimental study on the self-humidification effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cells containing double gas diffusion backing layer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 345-353.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhao, Jian & Ozden, Adnan & Shahgaldi, Samaneh & Alaefour, Ibrahim E. & Li, Xianguo & Hamdullahpur, Feridun, 2018. "Effect of Pt loading and catalyst type on the pore structure of porous electrodes in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 69-76.
    2. Kim, Kyunghyun & Kim, Jaeyeon & Choi, Heesoo & Kwon, Obeen & Jang, Yujae & Ryu, Sangbong & Lee, Heeyun & Shim, Kyuhwan & Park, Taehyun & Cha, Suk Won, 2023. "Pre-diagnosis of flooding and drying in proton exchange membrane fuel cells by bagging ensemble deep learning models using long short-term memory and convolutional neural networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    3. Zhang, Xiaoqing & Yang, Jiapei & Ma, Xiao & Zhuge, Weilin & Shuai, Shijin, 2022. "Modelling and analysis on effects of penetration of microporous layer into gas diffusion layer in PEM fuel cells: Focusing on mass transport," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    4. Lim, In Seop & Lee, Yeong Ho & Lee, Yoo Il & Kang, Byeonghyun & Park, Jin Young & Kim, Min Soo, 2023. "In-plane design strategy of gas diffusion layer and optimization to improve performance and current distribution uniformity in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    5. Liu, Huize & Hu, Zunyan & Li, Jianqiu & Xu, Liangfei & Shao, Yangbin & Ouyang, Minggao, 2023. "Investigation on the optimal GDL thickness design for PEMFCs considering channel/rib geometry matching and operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    6. Hosseini, Mirollah & Afrouzi, Hamid Hassanzadeh & Arasteh, Hossein & Toghraie, Davood, 2019. "Energy analysis of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with an open-ended anode using agglomerate model: A CFD study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    7. Zheng Huang & Laisuo Su & Yunjie Yang & Linsong Gao & Xinyu Liu & Heng Huang & Yubai Li & Yongchen Song, 2023. "Three-Dimensional Simulation on the Effects of Different Parameters and Pt Loading on the Long-Term Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-22, February.
    8. Song Yan & Mingyang Yang & Chuanyu Sun & Sichuan Xu, 2023. "Liquid Water Characteristics in the Compressed Gradient Porosity Gas Diffusion Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-18, August.
    9. Taner, Tolga, 2018. "Energy and exergy analyze of PEM fuel cell: A case study of modeling and simulations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 284-294.
    10. Guo, Lingyi & Chen, Li & Zhang, Ruiyuan & Peng, Ming & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2022. "Pore-scale simulation of two-phase flow and oxygen reactive transport in gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Effects of nonuniform wettability and porosity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    11. Kang, Dong Gyun & Lee, Dong Keun & Choi, Jong Min & Shin, Dong Kyu & Kim, Min Soo, 2020. "Study on the metal foam flow field with porosity gradient in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 931-941.
    12. Kwon, Obeen & Kim, Jaeyeon & Choi, Heesoo & Cha, Hyeonjin & Shin, Myunggyu & Jeong, Youngjin & Park, Taehyun, 2022. "CNT sheet as a cathodic functional interlayer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    13. Yao, Ling & Wang, Feng & Wang, Long & Wang, Guoqiang, 2019. "Transport enhancement study on small-scale methanol steam reforming reactor with waste heat recovery for hydrogen production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 986-997.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Min Soo, 2016. "Investigations on the double gas diffusion backing layer for performance improvement of self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 149-156.
    2. Zhang, Xiaoqing & Yang, Jiapei & Ma, Xiao & Zhuge, Weilin & Shuai, Shijin, 2022. "Modelling and analysis on effects of penetration of microporous layer into gas diffusion layer in PEM fuel cells: Focusing on mass transport," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    3. Yan, Xiaohui & Lin, Chen & Zheng, Zhifeng & Chen, Junren & Wei, Guanghua & Zhang, Junliang, 2020. "Effect of clamping pressure on liquid-cooled PEMFC stack performance considering inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    4. Ye, Lingfeng & Qiu, Diankai & Peng, Linfa & Lai, Xinmin, 2022. "Microstructures and electrical conductivity properties of compressed gas diffusion layers using X-ray tomography," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    5. Qiu, Diankai & Janßen, Holger & Peng, Linfa & Irmscher, Philipp & Lai, Xinmin & Lehnert, Werner, 2018. "Electrical resistance and microstructure of typical gas diffusion layers for proton exchange membrane fuel cell under compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 127-137.
    6. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Beom Jun & Baik, Kyung Don & Kim, Min Soo, 2015. "Experimental study on the start-up with dry gases from normal cell temperatures in self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 57-66.
    7. Zhao, Jian & Shahgaldi, Samaneh & Alaefour, Ibrahim & Xu, Qian & Li, Xianguo, 2018. "Gas permeability of catalyzed electrodes in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 203-210.
    8. Jiao, Kui & Bachman, John & Zhou, Yibo & Park, Jae Wan, 2014. "Effect of induced cross flow on flow pattern and performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 75-82.
    9. Oh, Hwanyeong & Park, Jaeman & Min, Kyoungdoug & Lee, Eunsook & Jyoung, Jy-Young, 2015. "Effects of pore size gradient in the substrate of a gas diffusion layer on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 186-193.
    10. Wu, Horng-Wen & Ku, Hui-Wen, 2011. "The optimal parameters estimation for rectangular cylinders installed transversely in the flow channel of PEMFC from a three-dimensional PEMFC model and the Taguchi method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 4879-4890.
    11. Xing, Lei & Shi, Weidong & Su, Huaneng & Xu, Qian & Das, Prodip K. & Mao, Baodong & Scott, Keith, 2019. "Membrane electrode assemblies for PEM fuel cells: A review of functional graded design and optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 445-464.
    12. Kong, Im Mo & Choi, Jong Won & Kim, Sung Il & Lee, Eun Sook & Kim, Min Soo, 2015. "Experimental study on the self-humidification effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cells containing double gas diffusion backing layer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 345-353.
    13. Li, Linjun & Wang, Shixue & Yue, Like & Wang, Guozhuo, 2019. "Cold-start method for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells based on locally heating the cathode," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    14. Díaz, Manuel Antonio & Iranzo, Alfredo & Rosa, Felipe & Isorna, Fernando & López, Eduardo & Bolivar, Juan Pedro, 2015. "Effect of carbon dioxide on the contamination of low temperature and high temperature PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cells. Influence of temperature, relative humidity and analysis of regener," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 299-309.
    15. Wu, Horng-Wen, 2016. "A review of recent development: Transport and performance modeling of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 81-106.
    16. Niu, Zhiqiang & Bao, Zhiming & Wu, Jingtian & Wang, Yun & Jiao, Kui, 2018. "Two-phase flow in the mixed-wettability gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 443-450.
    17. Zhou, Zihan & Qiu, Diankai & Zhai, Shuang & Peng, Linfa & Lai, Xinmin, 2020. "Investigation of the assembly for high-power proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks through an efficient equivalent model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    18. Wang, Qing-Hui & Yang, Song & Zhou, Wei & Li, Jing-Rong & Xu, Zhi-Jia & Ke, Yu-Zhi & Yu, Wei & Hu, Guang-Hua, 2018. "Optimizing the porosity configuration of porous copper fiber sintered felt for methanol steam reforming micro-reactor based on flow distribution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 243-261.
    19. Ferreira, Rui B. & Falcão, D.S. & Oliveira, V.B. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2017. "1D+3D two-phase flow numerical model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 474-495.
    20. Chang, Yafei & Qin, Yanzhou & Yin, Yan & Zhang, Junfeng & Li, Xianguo, 2018. "Humidification strategy for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 643-662.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:120:y:2017:i:c:p:478-487. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.