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Diffusion parameter correlations for PEFC gas diffusion layers considering the presence of a water-droplet

Espinoza-Andaluz, Mayken LU ; Reyna, Raul ; Moyón, Ayrton ; Li, Tingshuai and Andersson, Martin LU (2019) In International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Abstract

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) produces electrical energy according to the electrochemical reactions carried out inside the cell. During the energy conversion, water molecules are also produced at the cathode side, which affects the gas diffusion layer (GDL) diffusion parameters. The generated water-drops from the reaction may give partial or total blockage of the reactant gases and also material oxidation. The mentioned phenomena influence the performance of the PEFCs. This paper aims to describe and quantify the impact on diffusion parameters of GDLs when the size of the formed water-drops inside the layer is varying. This study considers digitally generated GDLs, in which the porosity, gas-phase tortuosity and diffusibility... (More)

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) produces electrical energy according to the electrochemical reactions carried out inside the cell. During the energy conversion, water molecules are also produced at the cathode side, which affects the gas diffusion layer (GDL) diffusion parameters. The generated water-drops from the reaction may give partial or total blockage of the reactant gases and also material oxidation. The mentioned phenomena influence the performance of the PEFCs. This paper aims to describe and quantify the impact on diffusion parameters of GDLs when the size of the formed water-drops inside the layer is varying. This study considers digitally generated GDLs, in which the porosity, gas-phase tortuosity and diffusibility are studied. The fluid flow behavior through the three-dimensional porous domain representing the GDL is obtained with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Depending on the water-drop size, the impact of the mentioned parameters can be computed. For the current study a spherical water-drop whose radius varies between the 15 and 35% of the size of the domain was considered. The studied parameters showed a dependency of the water-drop radius, each changing independently and several correlations to predict the behavior of the mentioned diffusion transport parameters are proposed.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Diffusibility, Gas diffusion layer, Gas-phase tortuosity, PEFC, Water-droplet
in
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85071977997
ISSN
0360-3199
DOI
10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.08.144
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7a2821ee-5f27-4ed0-8b8c-79090c949f47
date added to LUP
2019-09-18 16:47:36
date last changed
2022-04-26 05:32:47
@article{7a2821ee-5f27-4ed0-8b8c-79090c949f47,
  abstract     = {{<p>A polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) produces electrical energy according to the electrochemical reactions carried out inside the cell. During the energy conversion, water molecules are also produced at the cathode side, which affects the gas diffusion layer (GDL) diffusion parameters. The generated water-drops from the reaction may give partial or total blockage of the reactant gases and also material oxidation. The mentioned phenomena influence the performance of the PEFCs. This paper aims to describe and quantify the impact on diffusion parameters of GDLs when the size of the formed water-drops inside the layer is varying. This study considers digitally generated GDLs, in which the porosity, gas-phase tortuosity and diffusibility are studied. The fluid flow behavior through the three-dimensional porous domain representing the GDL is obtained with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Depending on the water-drop size, the impact of the mentioned parameters can be computed. For the current study a spherical water-drop whose radius varies between the 15 and 35% of the size of the domain was considered. The studied parameters showed a dependency of the water-drop radius, each changing independently and several correlations to predict the behavior of the mentioned diffusion transport parameters are proposed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Espinoza-Andaluz, Mayken and Reyna, Raul and Moyón, Ayrton and Li, Tingshuai and Andersson, Martin}},
  issn         = {{0360-3199}},
  keywords     = {{Diffusibility; Gas diffusion layer; Gas-phase tortuosity; PEFC; Water-droplet}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Hydrogen Energy}},
  title        = {{Diffusion parameter correlations for PEFC gas diffusion layers considering the presence of a water-droplet}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.08.144}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.08.144}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}