质子交换膜燃料电池阴极传质过程的数值模拟

利用CFD方法对采用交指型流道质子交换膜燃料电池阴极的传质过程进行数值模拟,得到了阴极扩散层内氧气和水蒸汽质量浓度的分布特性,探讨了电池结构参数和操作条件对电池性能的影响。     

交指状流场质子交换膜燃料电池的流动特性

不同流场构型对质子交换膜燃料电池的流动特性和电池效率有重要的影响,因此流场的设计和理论研究是质子交换膜燃料电池研究的重要课题.发展了一个基于计算流体力学的稳态的三维数学模型,应用建立的模型对一个交指状流场设计的质子交换膜燃料单电池进行了数值研究,电池的电极面积大小为6.4×6.5 cm2,计算得到了电池的流场、局部电流密度和组分浓度等的空间分布,分析了其流动特性和传输机理.     

不同型式流场的PEMFC内部传质分析

对采用不同型式流场的PEMFC进行建模,并用控制容积法对控制方程进行离散,求解得到PEMFC内部各物理量的分布以及综合水拖带系数、质子交换膜平均电导率等。分析了采用交趾型流场和常规流场时PEMFC的内部传质以及阴极性能、电池性能和膜性能,结果认为采用交趾型流场时,PEMFC阴极性能高于采用常规流场的PEMFC阴极性能,但质子交换膜的平均电导率低于采用常规流场时。在没有液态水产生时常规流场PEMFC性能高于交趾型流场PEMFC。     

质子交换膜燃料电池自增湿研究进展

概述了质子交换膜燃料电池自增湿研究状况，指出自增湿的出发点是有效利用电池阴极过程生成水。综述了薄电解质膜、新型自增湿膜、自增湿流场结构三种方法的研究进展及适用空间。对自增湿技术发展前景进行了探讨。     

蛇形流场结构质子交换膜燃料电池的性能研究

建立包括催化层、扩散层、质子膜在内的三维质子交换膜燃料电池模型,通过Fluent软件模拟4种不同结构的蛇形流场,通过对速度、膜中水含量以及功率密度等分析得出蛇形流场的最优结构,并对最优结构进行参数优化。研究表明,4种不同蛇形流场结构中,Multi-serpentine II为最优,随着温度、压强的增加,这种流场结构的燃料电池呈现出良好的性能,从而为质子交换膜燃料电池双极板的设计提供依据。     

PEM燃料电池流场形状研究现状

双极板是质子交换膜燃料电池堆的重要部件之一,流场形状结构构成了双极板最主要特征。文章将近年来流场形状的研究现状进行梳理,通过对比分析各种流场设计方法,其对反应物与生成物的分布影响,流场内压力、热量及电流密度分布,流场制造成本等。总结各种流场优缺点,得出燃料电池不同实际应用情况下的最佳流场类型。以此为质子交换膜燃料电池流场的结构设计及研究发展方向提供可行性参考。     

基于神经元的PEMFC仿生流道性能模拟研究

质子交换膜燃料电池的流道结构对反应气体的流动和压降等具有重要影响。受神经元结构启发,提出一种兼顾径向流道和仿生流道在压降和气体分布均匀性优点的新型仿生流道结构。通过COMSOL软件模拟研究该新型流道的分支数（2~9）对质子交换膜燃料电池的性能曲线、阴极氧浓度分布、水浓度分布及压降的影响。结果表明：增加流道分支数可提高质子交换膜燃料电池的输出性能,其中9分支流道的峰值功率密度最大,为0.32 W/cm²,相比于2分支流道增加了的146.15%;分支数的增加也会提高氧浓度分布的均匀性,阴极气体扩散层与催化层交界面处的平均氧浓度从0.44 mol/m³提高到1.42 mol/m³,氧气不均匀度从2.13降低至0.90;分支数的增加也明显改善了弧形流道内的水浓度分布。此外,随着流道分支数从2增加到9,流道压降从38.57 Pa递减至4.47 Pa,质子交换膜燃料电池的输出功率从0.40 W递增到1.56 W。     

PEMFC温度的自动控制

本文分析了工作温度对质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)运行性能的影响,研究采用Nafion膜作为温度传感器来检测质子交换膜燃料电池的工作温度,运用闭环负反馈调节方案实现了质子交换膜燃料电池温度的自动控制,并对温度调节过渡过程的性能指标进行了分析和验证。     

四流道蛇形结构质子交换膜燃料电池温度分布数值模拟

为研究温度对质子交换膜燃料电池性能的影响,运用多物理场直接耦合分析软件COMSOL Multiphysics,对不同电池温度的四流道蛇形流场质子交换膜燃料电池进行了数值模拟。模拟得到了不同电池温度下垂直膜电极平面以及电池中心处从阳极流道到膜,再到到阴极流道的温度变化情况;还得到了电池温度为353K时,电池入口处、中心处和出口处从阳极流道到阴极流道相应位置点的温差变化。对模拟结果进行分析和比较后发现:电池内部温度的升高与电池本身的原始温度存在线性变化关系;电池入口处、中心处和出口处的温度变化趋势存在差异,且电池入口处温升最大,中心处次之,出口处温升最小;随着电池温度的升高,电池因内部反应所产生的热量减少。模拟结果对质子交换膜燃料电池的性能优化有重要意义。     

质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极组件温度分布的神经网络预测模型

质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极组件表面的温度分布会影响质子交换膜燃料电池的性能、寿命和可靠性.为探究质子交换膜燃料电池传热规律,本文提出了一种基于神经网络的质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极组件温度分布的预测模型.本研究选取径向基函数神经网络(RBF)和广义回归神经网络(GRNN)两种神经网络,以电流密度、温度点的位置作为网络输入,不同位置的温度作为网络输出,对平行流道质子交换膜燃料电池、蛇形流道质子交换膜燃料电池分别建立了神经网络预测模型.结果显示,RBF神经网络预测的均方根误差平均为0.464、平均绝对百分误差为1.179％,GRNN神经网络预测的均方根误差平均为0.7155、平均绝对百分误差为2.27％;相较于GRNN神经网络,RBF神经网络精度更高;基于RBF神经网络的平行流道质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极组件温度分布预测模型预测值与96％的实验值的相对误差在5％以内.基于RBF神经网络的蛇形流道质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极组件温度分布预测模型预测值与95％的实验值的相对误差在5％以内.     

Mid-baffle interdigitated flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A new design of an interdigitated flow field, called as a mid-baffle interdigitated flow field, was built and tested for its effect on the performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The results were compared to the conventional interdigitated flow field. Their performances at different oxidant gas flow rates and operating pressures were also examined and compared by using both O₂ and air as the cathode fuel reactants. The experimental results showed that when air was used as the cathode reactant, the cell with the mid-baffle interdigitated flow field outperformed the conventional one, giving a power output approximately 1.2-1.3 times higher depending on the air flow rates. The polarization curves of the mid-baffle interdigitated flow field showed larger limiting current densities at every air flow rate tested in this work. However, the performances of both flow fields were almost the same when the cathode reactant gas was O₂. The test also demonstrated that the flow field performance could be enhanced by increasing the oxidant gas flow rate and cell operating pressure.     

Effect of channel length on interdigitated flow-field PEMFC performance: A computational and experimental study

This study examines the effect of increased channel length on the distribution of flow gases and cell performance in an interdigitated flow-field PEMFC. A numerical model was used to simulate the pressure distribution and gas flow in 5 cm and 25 cm channel length interdigitated flow fields that have eight channels with fixed channel and land widths of 1 mm. The results show the distribution of flow under land areas (cross flow) is subject to maldistribution in the longer cell while the shorter cell produces relatively homogenous cross flow along its length. An experimental test cell was designed to run with the same channel lengths, under similar conditions to those modeled. Inlet pressure data was recorded to account for parasitic pump losses, used to calculate net system power curves. Results show that a shorter channel interdigitated flow field may produce both higher maximum power and limiting current densities compared with longer cells.     

Design strategy for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell flow-field capable of switching between parallel and interdigitated configurations

Novel water management strategies are important to the development of next generation polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell systems (PEMFCs). Parallel and interdigitated flow fields are two common types of PEMFC designs that have benefits and draw backs depending upon operating conditions. Parallel flow fields rely predominately on diffusion to deliver reactants and remove byproduct water. Interdigitated flow fields induce convective transport, known as cross flow, through the porous gas diffusion layer (GDL) and therefore are superior at water removal beneath land areas which can lead to higher cell performance. Unfortunately, forcing flow through the GDL results in higher pumping losses as the inlet pressure for interdigitated flow fields can be up to an order of magnitude greater than that for a parallel flow field. In this study a flow field capable of switching between parallel and interdigitated configurations was designed and tested. Results show, taking into account pumping losses, that using constant stoichiometry the parallel flow field results in a higher system power under low current density operation compared to the interdigitated configuration. The interdigitated flow-field configuration was observed to have lower overvoltage at elevated current densities resulting in a higher maximum power and a higher limiting current density. An optimal system power curve was produced by switching from parallel to interdigitated configuration based on which produces a higher system power at a given current density. This design method can be easily implemented with current PEMFC technology and requires minimal hardware. Some of the consequences this design has on system components are discussed.     

Reticulated porous and parallel channel cathode flow fields in real scale polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: A comparative experimental study

This paper focuses on understanding the effect of reticulated porous cathode flow fields in real scale close and open cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in terms of their thermo-electrical performance. This research contributes to addressing challenges with PEMFCs linked to oxygen supply to the cathode and proper mixing of gasses as well as water removal issues. Parallel channel and porous cathode flow fields in both open and closed cathode PEMFCs of medium scale (active area of 15 × 15 cm²) have been investigated. The porous material consisted of 20 pores per inch with a porosity level of 80%. The cells’ polarisation and impedance characteristics have been analysed. The porous flow field has been found providing better electrical performance in closed cathode PEMFC compared to the open cathode. Improvements in gas diffusion and temperature uniformity were observed with porous flow field; however, water removal has been observed challenging, which need to be addressed before the benefits of using porous flow field are fully realised.     

A generalized numerical model for liquid water in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with interdigitated design

A new approach to numerical simulation of liquid water distribution in channels and porous media including gas diffusion layers (GDLs), catalyst layers, and the membrane of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was introduced in this study. The three-dimensional, PEMFC model with detailed thermo-electrochemistry, multi-species, and two-phase interactions. Explicit gas-liquid interface tracking was performed by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software package FLUENT^® v6.2, with its User-Defined Functions (UDF) combined with volume-of-fluid (VOF) algorithm. The liquid water transport on a PEMFC with interdigitated design was investigated. The behavior of liquid water was understood by presenting the motion of liquid water droplet in the channels and the porous media at different time instants. The numerical results show that removal of liquid water strongly depends on the magnitude of the flow field. Due to the blockage of liquid water, the gas flow is unevenly distributed, the high pressure regions takes place at the locations where water liquid appears. In addition, mass transport of the species and the current density distribution is significantly degraded by the presence of liquid water.     

Experimental study and optimization of flow field structures in proton exchange membrane fuel cell under different anode modes

As one of the critical components in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the flow field is crucial to the improvement of cell performance. However, the current research on flow field structure lacks consideration of the influence of different anode modes, which makes the existing flow field structure rules have limitations in the practical application of PEMFC. In this paper, the PEMFC characteristics of parallel flow field, S-shaped flow field, multi-serpentine flow field and single-serpentine flow field at the cathode side are compared experimentally in the dead-end anode (DEA) mode and hydrogen circulation anode (HCA) mode, respectively. Especially, the spatial current density distribution and parasitic power of different flow field structures are measured. The results show that the performance trends of different flow field structures change with the DEA and HCA anode modes. In DEA mode, the PEMFC is prone to flooding, and the flow field with high gas velocity in the channel has better drainage ability, which can obtain higher cell performance. The HCA mode is helpful for the discharge of water in the PEMFC, which effectively alleviates the adverse impact of water accumulation on the overall performance, and the mass transport ability of the flow field structure plays a leading role in the cell performance improvement. In addition, although the high gas flow velocity has better drainage ability in the flow field, it may lead to a decrease in the current density distribution uniformity and PEMFC net output power density. Based on the comprehensive consideration of the experimental results, the multi-serpentine flow field is more suitable for DEA mode, and the S-shaped flow field is more suitable for HCA mode.     

叉指型PEMFC阴极内的两相流动模拟

对叉指型质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)阴极提出一个二维两相的多组分流体输运模型,应用连续性方程和Darcy定律以及组分扩散方程描述了反应气体和生成水的流动和传质。利用Leverett函数关联毛细压力与水饱和度,采用半经验关系式给出了气液在多孔层的相对渗透率。本模型预测的叉指型PEMFC性能曲线与文献中实验结果符合较好。研究发现,液态水在阴极内由催化层向出口流动是气体流动的剪切力和毛细驱动力共同作用的结果,液态水流速比气体流速小3个数量级或更多,液态水在电极上的分布比较均匀。     

Numerical study of cell performance and local transport phenomena in PEM fuel cells with various flow channel area ratios

Three-dimensional models of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with parallel and interdigitated flow channel designs were developed including the effects of liquid water formation on the reactant gas transport. The models were used to investigate the effects of the flow channel area ratio and the cathode flow rate on the cell performance and local transport characteristics. The results reveal that at high operating voltages, the cell performance is independent of the flow channel designs and operating parameters, while at low operating voltages, both significantly affect cell performance. For the parallel flow channel design, as the flow channel area ratio increases the cell performance improves because fuel is transported into the diffusion layer and the catalyst layer mainly by diffusion. A larger flow channel area ratio increases the contact area between the fuel and the diffusion layer, which allows more fuel to directly diffuse into the porous layers to participate in the electrochemical reaction which enhances the reaction rates. For the interdigitated flow channel design, the baffle forces more fuel to enter the cell and participate in the electrochemical reaction, so the flow channel area ratio has less effect. Forced convection not only increases the fuel transport rates but also enhances the liquid water removal, thus interdigitated flow channel design has higher performance than the parallel flow channel design. The optimal performance for the interdigitated flow channel design occurs for a flow channel area ratio of 0.4. The cell performance also improves as the cathode flow rate increases. The effects of the flow channel area ratio and the cathode flow rate on cell performance are analyzed based on the local current densities, oxygen flow rates and liquid water concentrations inside the cell.