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Water Transport and Removal in PEMFC Gas Flow Channel with Various Water Droplet Locations and Channel Surface Wettability

Author

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  • Yanzhou Qin

    (State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China)

  • Xuefeng Wang

    (State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China)

  • Rouxian Chen

    (State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China)

  • Xiang Shangguan

    (State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China)

Abstract

Water transport and removal in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is critically important to fuel cell performance, stability, and durability. Water emerging locations on the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) surface and the channel surface wettability significantly influence the water transport and removal in PEMFC. In most simulations of water transport and removal in the PEMFC flow channel, liquid water is usually introduced at the center of the MEA surface, which is fortuitous, since water droplet can emerge randomly on the MEA surface in PEMFC. In addition, the commonly used no-slip wall boundary condition greatly confines the water sliding features on hydrophobic MEA/channel surfaces, degrading the simulation accuracy. In this study, water droplet is introduced with various locations along the channel width direction on the MEA surface, and water transport and removal is investigated numerically using an improved model incorporating the sliding flow property by using the shear wall boundary condition. It is found that the water droplet can be driven to the channel sidewall by aerodynamics when the initial water location deviates from the MEA center to a certain amount, forming the water corner flow in the flow channel. The channel surface wettability on the water transport is also studied and is shown to have a significant impact on the water corner flow in the flow channel.

Suggested Citation

  • Yanzhou Qin & Xuefeng Wang & Rouxian Chen & Xiang Shangguan, 2018. "Water Transport and Removal in PEMFC Gas Flow Channel with Various Water Droplet Locations and Channel Surface Wettability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:4:p:880-:d:140383
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mengying Fan & Fengyun Duan & Tianqi Wang & Mingming Kang & Bin Zeng & Jian Xu & Ryan Anderson & Wei Du & Lifeng Zhang, 2021. "Effect of Pore Shape and Spacing on Water Droplet Dynamics in Flow Channels of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Wang, Yulin & Wang, Xiaodong & Wang, Xiaoai & Liu, Tao & Zhu, Tingting & Liu, Shengchun & Qin, Yanzhou, 2021. "Droplet dynamic characteristics on PEM fuel cell cathode gas diffusion layer with gradient pore size distribution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 864-874.
    3. Jin Hyun Kim & Woo Tae Kim, 2018. "Numerical Investigation of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow inside PEMFC Gas Channels with Rectangular and Trapezoidal Cross Sections," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Devin Fowler & Vladimir Gurau & Daniel Cox, 2019. "Bridging the Gap between Automated Manufacturing of Fuel Cell Components and Robotic Assembly of Fuel Cell Stacks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-14, September.
    5. N. Ibrahim-Rassoul & E.-K. Si-Ahmed & A. Serir & A. Kessi & J. Legrand & N. Djilali, 2019. "Investigation of Two-Phase Flow in a Hydrophobic Fuel-Cell Micro-Channel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-32, May.

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