Based on use of multi-dimensional models,this investigation simulates the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell by varying the channel pattern.In the one-dimensional model,the porosity of the gas diffusi...Based on use of multi-dimensional models,this investigation simulates the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell by varying the channel pattern.In the one-dimensional model,the porosity of the gas diffusion layer is 0.3.The model reveals the water vapor distribution of the fuel cell and demonstrates that the amount of water vapor increases linearly with the reduction reaction adjacent to the gas channel and the gas diffusion layer.Secondly,four novel tapered gas channels are simulated by a two-dimensional model.The model considers the distributions of oxygen,the pressure drop,the amount of water vapor distribution and the polarization curves.The results indicate that as the channel depth decreases,the oxygen in the tapered gas channel can be accel-erated and forced into the gas diffusion layer to improve the cell performance.The three-dimensional model is employed to simulate the phenomenon associated with four novel tapered gas channels.The results also show that the best performance is realized in the least tapered gas channel.Finally,an experimentally determined mechanism is found to be consistent with the results of the simulation.展开更多
Gas diffusion layer(GDL) plays a great important role in proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC).Water transport mechanism in GDL is still not clear.In the present study,an ex-situ transparent setup is built to visu...Gas diffusion layer(GDL) plays a great important role in proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC).Water transport mechanism in GDL is still not clear.In the present study,an ex-situ transparent setup is built to visualize the transport phenomena and to measure the threshold pressure of water in GDL at different temperatures.It is found that the relationship between the breakthrough pressure and the temperature is nearly linear(i.e.the pressure decreases linearly with the increase of temperature).To avoid the problems faced by the continuum models,the pore network model is developed to simulate the liquid water transport through the carbon paper.A uniform pressure boundary condition is used in simulation and the results are similar to the ones obtained in the experiment.The reason is that the contact angle and surface tension coefficient of water in GDLs change accordingly with the change of temperature.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Science Council (NSC 97-222-E-009-067)
文摘Based on use of multi-dimensional models,this investigation simulates the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell by varying the channel pattern.In the one-dimensional model,the porosity of the gas diffusion layer is 0.3.The model reveals the water vapor distribution of the fuel cell and demonstrates that the amount of water vapor increases linearly with the reduction reaction adjacent to the gas channel and the gas diffusion layer.Secondly,four novel tapered gas channels are simulated by a two-dimensional model.The model considers the distributions of oxygen,the pressure drop,the amount of water vapor distribution and the polarization curves.The results indicate that as the channel depth decreases,the oxygen in the tapered gas channel can be accel-erated and forced into the gas diffusion layer to improve the cell performance.The three-dimensional model is employed to simulate the phenomenon associated with four novel tapered gas channels.The results also show that the best performance is realized in the least tapered gas channel.Finally,an experimentally determined mechanism is found to be consistent with the results of the simulation.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50976011)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. 2009JBM090)
文摘Gas diffusion layer(GDL) plays a great important role in proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC).Water transport mechanism in GDL is still not clear.In the present study,an ex-situ transparent setup is built to visualize the transport phenomena and to measure the threshold pressure of water in GDL at different temperatures.It is found that the relationship between the breakthrough pressure and the temperature is nearly linear(i.e.the pressure decreases linearly with the increase of temperature).To avoid the problems faced by the continuum models,the pore network model is developed to simulate the liquid water transport through the carbon paper.A uniform pressure boundary condition is used in simulation and the results are similar to the ones obtained in the experiment.The reason is that the contact angle and surface tension coefficient of water in GDLs change accordingly with the change of temperature.