Numerical Simulation of Liquid Water and Air Flow in Separator-Channels in PEM Fuel Cell Using LBM

Author(s):  
Yutaka Tabe ◽  
Kohsuke Kibo ◽  
Kazushige Kikuta ◽  
Takemi Chikahisa ◽  
Masaya Kozakai

In a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, the condensed water in the separator-channel prevents the supply of reactants to electrodes, which deteriorates the cell performance. The Lattice Boltzmann simulation has been developed to understand the behavior of condensed water in the separator-channels. The calculation process was improved, and the effect on the stability and reliability of simulation of two-phase flows with large density difference was confirmed. Further, the comparison with experiment of the falling water droplet by gravitation on the slope of micro porous layer was conducted to validate effectiveness of the improved simulation. It was shown that the simulation can express the increase in falling speed of water droplet and the effect of inclined angle of the slope, and our simulation is effective enough to estimate the liquid water and air flow in the separator-channel. Finally, the simulation of liquid water behaviors in separator-channels with various cross-sectional shapes was conducted, and the drain efficiency of water droplet of separator-channel was discussed.

Author(s):  
Yutaka Tabe ◽  
Takamichi Ochi ◽  
Kazushige Kikuta ◽  
Takemi Chikahisa ◽  
Hideki Shinohara

In a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, the condensed water in the separator-channel prevents the supply of reactants to electrodes, which deteriorates the cell performance. The Lattice Boltzmann simulation has been conducted to understand the behavior of condensed water in the separator-channels. The scheme for the two-phase flow with large density difference was applied and the boundary condition for wettability at the corner inside the channel was examined. The present simulation demonstrates the effects of the cross-sectional shape, the wettability of channel and the volume of condensed water on the liquid water behavior. In the hydrophilic separator-channels, the liquid water spreads along the channel wall to form film and, in a specific condition, the water draws away from the gas diffusion layer, which suppresses the flooding. On the other hand, the liquid water forms sphere, covering larger area of the surface of gas diffusion layer in the hydrophobic separator-channels, but the drain performance of liquid water is superior.


2016 ◽  
Vol 306 ◽  
pp. 658-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sönke Gößling ◽  
Merle Klages ◽  
Jan Haußmann ◽  
Peter Beckhaus ◽  
Matthias Messerschmidt ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamaljyoti Talukdar

The present work consists of the modeling and analysis of solar photovoltaic panels integrated with electrolyzer bank and Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks for running different appliances of a hospital located in Kolkata for different climatic conditions. Electric power is generated by an array of solar photovoltaic modules. Excess energy after meeting the requirements of the hospital during peak sunshine hours is supplied to an electrolyzer bank to generate hydrogen gas, which is consumed by the PEM fuel cell stack to support the power requirement during the energy deficit hours. The study reveals that 875 solar photovoltaic modules in parallel each having 2 modules in series of Central Electronics Limited Make PM 150 with a 178.537 kW electrolyzer and 27 PEM fuel cell stacks, each of 382.372 W, can support the energy requirement of a 200 lights (100 W each), 4 pumps (2 kW each), 120 fans(65 W each) and 5 refrigerators (2 kW each)system operated for 16 hours, 2 hours,15 hours and 24 hours respectively. 123 solar photovoltaic modules in parallel each having 2 modules in series of Central Electronics Limited Make PM 150 is needed to run the gas compressor for storing hydrogen in the cylinder during sunshine hours.  Keywords: Central Electronics Limited, Electrolyzer, PEM, PM 150, Solar photovoltaic. Article History: Received Feb 5th 2017; Received in revised form June 2nd 2017; Accepted June 28th 2017; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Talukdar, K. (2017). Modeling and Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic Assisted Electrolyzer-Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell For Running a Hospital in Remote Area in Kolkata,India. International Journal of Renewable Energy Develeopment, 6(2), 181-191.https://dx.doi.org/10.14710/ijred.6.2.181-191


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 3575-3587
Author(s):  
Seyedali Sabzpoushan ◽  
Hassan Jafari Mosleh ◽  
Soheil Kavian ◽  
Mohsen Saffari Pour ◽  
Omid Mohammadi ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Jinglin He ◽  
Song-Yul Choe ◽  
Chang-Ouk Hong

The flow in gas flow channels of an operating polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell has a two-phase characteristic that includes air, water vapor and liquid water and significantly affects the water flooding, pressure distribution along the channels, and subsequently the performance of the cell and system. Presence of liquid water in channels prevents transport of the reactants to the catalysts and increases the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of channels, which leads to high parasitic power of pumps used in air and fuel supply systems. We propose a model that enables prediction of pressure drop and liquid water distribution along channels and analysis of water flooding in an operating fuel cell. The model was developed based on a gas-liquid two-phase separated flow that considers the variations of gas pressure, mass flow rate, relative humidity, viscosity, void fraction, and density along the channels on both sides. Effects of operating parameters that include stoichoimetric ratio, relative humidity, and inlet pressure on the pressure drop and water flooding along the channels were analyzed.


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