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Compress effects on porosity, gas-phase tortuosity, and gas permeability in a simulated PEM gas diffusion layer

Espinoza Andaluz, Mayken LU ; Andersson, Martin LU ; Yuan, Jinliang LU and Sundén, Bengt LU (2015) In International Journal of Energy Research 39(11). p.1528-1536
Abstract
Among the parameters to take into account in the design of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the energy conversion efficiency and material cost are very important. Understanding in deep the behavior and properties of functional layers at the microscale is helpful for improving the performance of the system and find alternative materials. The functional layers of the PEMFC, i.e., the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalyst layer, are typically porous materials. This characteristic allows the transport of fluids and charges, which is needed for the energy conversion process. Specifically, in the GDL, structural parameters such as porosity, tortuosity, and permeability should be optimized and predicted under certain conditions.... (More)
Among the parameters to take into account in the design of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the energy conversion efficiency and material cost are very important. Understanding in deep the behavior and properties of functional layers at the microscale is helpful for improving the performance of the system and find alternative materials. The functional layers of the PEMFC, i.e., the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalyst layer, are typically porous materials. This characteristic allows the transport of fluids and charges, which is needed for the energy conversion process. Specifically, in the GDL, structural parameters such as porosity, tortuosity, and permeability should be optimized and predicted under certain conditions. These parameters have effects on the performance of PEMFCs, and they can be modified when the assembly compression is effected.



In this paper, the porosity, gas-phase tortuosity, and through-plane permeability are calculated. These variables change when the digitally created GDL is under compression conditions. The compression effects on the variables are studied until the thickness is 66% of the initial value. Because of the feasibility to handle problems in the porous media, the fluid flow behavior is evaluated using the lattice Boltzmann method. Our results show that when the GDL is compressed, the porosity and through-plane permeability decrease, while the gas-phase tortuosity increases, i.e., increase the gas-phase transport resistance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
proton exchange membrane fuel cell, lattice Boltzmann method, porosity, gas-phase tortuosity, gas diffusion layer, through-plane permeability
in
International Journal of Energy Research
volume
39
issue
11
pages
1528 - 1536
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • wos:000359375100006
  • scopus:84938747370
ISSN
0363-907X
DOI
10.1002/er.3348
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
49fbee12-7f7a-4961-ae91-2f884e6d6d31 (old id 7860307)
alternative location
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/er.3348/epdf
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:14:15
date last changed
2022-04-28 08:17:52
@article{49fbee12-7f7a-4961-ae91-2f884e6d6d31,
  abstract     = {{Among the parameters to take into account in the design of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the energy conversion efficiency and material cost are very important. Understanding in deep the behavior and properties of functional layers at the microscale is helpful for improving the performance of the system and find alternative materials. The functional layers of the PEMFC, i.e., the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalyst layer, are typically porous materials. This characteristic allows the transport of fluids and charges, which is needed for the energy conversion process. Specifically, in the GDL, structural parameters such as porosity, tortuosity, and permeability should be optimized and predicted under certain conditions. These parameters have effects on the performance of PEMFCs, and they can be modified when the assembly compression is effected.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
In this paper, the porosity, gas-phase tortuosity, and through-plane permeability are calculated. These variables change when the digitally created GDL is under compression conditions. The compression effects on the variables are studied until the thickness is 66% of the initial value. Because of the feasibility to handle problems in the porous media, the fluid flow behavior is evaluated using the lattice Boltzmann method. Our results show that when the GDL is compressed, the porosity and through-plane permeability decrease, while the gas-phase tortuosity increases, i.e., increase the gas-phase transport resistance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.}},
  author       = {{Espinoza Andaluz, Mayken and Andersson, Martin and Yuan, Jinliang and Sundén, Bengt}},
  issn         = {{0363-907X}},
  keywords     = {{proton exchange membrane fuel cell; lattice Boltzmann method; porosity; gas-phase tortuosity; gas diffusion layer; through-plane permeability}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{11}},
  pages        = {{1528--1536}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Energy Research}},
  title        = {{Compress effects on porosity, gas-phase tortuosity, and gas permeability in a simulated PEM gas diffusion layer}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/er.3348}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/er.3348}},
  volume       = {{39}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}