IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i8p2127-d533899.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Numerical Analysis of the Influence of Different Flow Patterns on Power and Reactant Transmission in Tubular-Shaped PEMFC

Author

Listed:
  • Lei Yuan

    (School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Zunlong Jin

    (School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
    Zhengzhou Greenburning Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Penghui Yang

    (School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Youchen Yang

    (School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Dingbiao Wang

    (School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Xiaotang Chen

    (Editorial Board of Journal of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

Abstract

The influence of a tubular structure PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) with different flow patterns is investigated in this study. A complete 3D non-isothermal model is constructed for square and circular tubular PEMFCs, and the distribution of oxygen and water concentration in cathode channels, current density, power density and cell net power are studied. To this end, the four arrangements of tubular PEMFC are square chordal (SC), square peripheral (SP), circular chordal (CC) and circular peripheral (CP). The calculation of the effective area and boundary conditions remains the same when performing all four configurations. The consequent results show that for the tubular structure PEMFC, compared with the co-flow mode, the counter-flow mode has better performance and provides more power. Using a counter-flow pattern, the permeability of the species increases, so a more uniform reaction occurs at the cell. The entire performance of the SP and CP model is not as good as that of the SC and CC models because the SP and CP models have a higher flow velocity. Moreover, the SC model using the counter-flow pattern has the maximum predicted net power among the other models.

Suggested Citation

  • Lei Yuan & Zunlong Jin & Penghui Yang & Youchen Yang & Dingbiao Wang & Xiaotang Chen, 2021. "Numerical Analysis of the Influence of Different Flow Patterns on Power and Reactant Transmission in Tubular-Shaped PEMFC," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:8:p:2127-:d:533899
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/8/2127/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/8/2127/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ismail, M.S. & Hughes, K.J. & Ingham, D.B. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2012. "Effects of anisotropic permeability and electrical conductivity of gas diffusion layers on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 50-63.
    2. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Wu, Horng-Wen, 2015. "A three-dimensional numerical investigation of trapezoid baffles effect on non-isothermal reactant transport and cell net power in a PEMFC," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 81-95.
    3. Olabi, Abdul Ghani & Mahmoud, Montaser & Soudan, Bassel & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Ramadan, Mohamad, 2020. "Geothermal based hybrid energy systems, toward eco-friendly energy approaches," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 2003-2012.
    4. Yuan, Wei & Tang, Yong & Pan, Minqiang & Li, Zongtao & Tang, Biao, 2010. "Model prediction of effects of operating parameters on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 656-666.
    5. Mohammadi-Ahmar, Akbar & Solati, Ali & Osanloo, Behzad & Hatami, Mohammad, 2017. "Effect of number and arrangement of separator electrode assembly (SEA) on the performance of square tubular PEM fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 302-313.
    6. Ogungbemi, Emmanuel & Ijaodola, Oluwatosin & Khatib, F.N. & Wilberforce, Tabbi & El Hassan, Zaki & Thompson, James & Ramadan, Mohamad & Olabi, A.G., 2019. "Fuel cell membranes – Pros and cons," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 155-172.
    7. Baroutaji, Ahmad & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Ramadan, Mohamad & Olabi, Abdul Ghani, 2019. "Comprehensive investigation on hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the aviation and aerospace sectors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 31-40.
    8. Ijaodola, O.S. & El- Hassan, Zaki & Ogungbemi, E. & Khatib, F.N. & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Thompson, James & Olabi, A.G., 2019. "Energy efficiency improvements by investigating the water flooding management on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 246-267.
    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. Qiao, Jia Nan & Guo, Hang & Ye, Fang & Chen, Hao, 2024. "A nonlinear contraction channel design inspired by typical mathematical curves: Boosting net power and water discharge of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    2. Yulin Wang & Xiangling Liao & Guokun Liu & Haokai Xu & Chao Guan & Huixuan Wang & Hua Li & Wei He & Yanzhou Qin, 2023. "Review of Flow Field Designs for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-54, May.
    3. Lingfeng Xuan & Yancheng Wang & Deqing Mei & Jingwei Lan, 2021. "Design and Modelling of 3D Bionic Cathode Flow Field for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Wang, Yulin & Guan, Chao & Li, Hua & Zhao, Yulong & Wang, Cheng & He, Wei, 2023. "Flow field configuration design for a large-scale hydrogen polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    5. James Chilver-Stainer & Anas F. A. Elbarghthi & Chuang Wen & Mi Tian, 2023. "Power Output Optimisation via Arranging Gas Flow Channels for Low-Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) for Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-18, April.

    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. Olabi, A.G. & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali, 2021. "Fuel cell application in the automotive industry and future perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    2. Tabbi Wilberforce & Abdul Ghani Olabi, 2020. "Performance Prediction of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) Using Adaptive Neuro Inference System (ANFIS)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Abed Alaswad & Abdelnasir Omran & Jose Ricardo Sodre & Tabbi Wilberforce & Gianmichelle Pignatelli & Michele Dassisti & Ahmad Baroutaji & Abdul Ghani Olabi, 2020. "Technical and Commercial Challenges of Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Abdul Ghani Olabi & Tabbi Wilberforce & Abdulrahman Alanazi & Parag Vichare & Enas Taha Sayed & Hussein M. Maghrabie & Khaled Elsaid & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem, 2022. "Novel Trends in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-35, July.
    5. A.G. Olabi & Tabbi Wilberforce & Enas Taha Sayed & Khaled Elsaid & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem, 2020. "Prospects of Fuel Cell Combined Heat and Power Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    6. Olabi, A.G. & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Sayed, Enas Taha, 2021. "Application of graphene in energy storage device – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Cha, Dowon & Yang, Wonseok & Kim, Yongchan, 2019. "Performance improvement of self-humidifying PEM fuel cells using water injection at various start-up conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 514-524.
    8. Yao, Jing & Wu, Zhen & Wang, Huan & Yang, Fusheng & Xuan, Jin & Xing, Lei & Ren, Jianwei & Zhang, Zaoxiao, 2022. "Design and multi-objective optimization of low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells with efficient water recovery and high electrochemical performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    9. Li, Wenkai & Zhang, Qinglei & Wang, Chao & Yan, Xiaohui & Shen, Shuiyun & Xia, Guofeng & Zhu, Fengjuan & Zhang, Junliang, 2017. "Experimental and numerical analysis of a three-dimensional flow field for PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 278-288.
    10. Tzelepis, Stefanos & Kavadias, Kosmas A. & Marnellos, George E. & Xydis, George, 2021. "A review study on proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrochemical performance focusing on anode and cathode catalyst layer modelling at macroscopic level," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    11. Wang, Qianqian & Tang, Fumin & Li, Bing & Dai, Haifeng & Zheng, Jim P. & Zhang, Cunman & Ming, Pingwen, 2022. "Investigation of the thermal responses under gas channel and land inside proton exchange membrane fuel cell with assembly pressure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    12. Gong, Fan & Yang, Xiaolong & Zhang, Xun & Mao, Zongqiang & Gao, Weitao & Wang, Cheng, 2023. "The study of Tesla valve flow field on the net power of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    13. Ercelik, Mustafa & Ismail, Mohammed S. & Ingham, Derek B. & Hughes, Kevin J. & Ma, Lin & Pourkashanian, Mohamed, 2023. "Efficient X-ray CT-based numerical computations of structural and mass transport properties of nickel foam-based GDLs for PEFCs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    14. Prapainainar, Paweena & Du, Zehui & Theampetch, Apichaya & Prapainainar, Chaiwat & Kongkachuichay, Paisan & Holmes, Stuart M., 2020. "Properties and DMFC performance of nafion/mordenite composite membrane fabricated by solution-casting method with different solvent ratio," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    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. Baricci, Andrea & Mereu, Riccardo & Messaggi, Mirko & Zago, Matteo & Inzoli, Fabio & Casalegno, Andrea, 2017. "Application of computational fluid dynamics to the analysis of geometrical features in PEM fuel cells flow fields with the aid of impedance spectroscopy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 670-682.
    17. Wu, Horng-Wen & Shih, Gin-Jang & Chen, Yi-Bin, 2018. "Effect of operational parameters on transport and performance of a PEM fuel cell with the best protrusive gas diffusion layer arrangement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 47-58.
    18. Olabi, A.G. & Onumaegbu, C. & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Ramadan, Mohamad & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Al – Alami, Abdul Hai, 2021. "Critical review of energy storage systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    19. Xing, Shuang & Zhao, Chen & Zou, Jiexin & Zaman, Shahid & Yu, Yang & Gong, Hongwei & Wang, Yajun & Chen, Ming & Wang, Min & Lin, Meng & Wang, Haijiang, 2022. "Recent advances in heat and water management of forced-convection open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    20. Beltrán-Gastélum, M. & Salazar-Gastélum, M.I. & Flores-Hernández, J.R. & Botte, G.G. & Pérez-Sicairos, S. & Romero-Castañon, T. & Reynoso-Soto, E. & Félix-Navarro, R.M., 2019. "Pt-Au nanoparticles on graphene for oxygen reduction reaction: Stability and performance on proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1225-1234.

    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:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:8:p:2127-:d:533899. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.