A two-phase flow and transport model for the cathode of PEM fuel cells
01 May 2002-International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (Pergamon)-Vol. 45, Iss: 11, pp 2277-2287
TL;DR: In this article, a unified two-phase flow mixture model was developed to describe the flow and transport in the cathode for PEM fuel cells, where the boundary condition at the gas diffuser/catalyst layer interface couples the flow, transport, electrical potential and current density in the anode, cathode catalyst layer and membrane.
About: This article is published in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer.The article was published on 2002-05-01. It has received 421 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Cathode & Anode.
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Los Alamos National Laboratory1, University of Texas at Austin2, United States Department of Energy3, Argonne National Laboratory4, Oak Ridge National Laboratory5, Case Western Reserve University6, Virginia Tech7, Doshisha University8, University of Yamanashi9, Yokohama National University10, Kyoto University11, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization12, Tokyo Institute of Technology13, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology14
TL;DR: The research focuses on the durability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), in particular, membrane degradation, and he has been involved in NEDO R&D research projects on PEFC durability since 2001.
Abstract: Rod Borup is a Team Leader in the fuel cell program at Los Alamos National Lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He received his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1988 and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1993. He has worked on fuel cell technology since 1994, working in the areas of hydrogen production and PEM fuel cell stack components. He has been awarded 12 U.S. patents, authored over 40 papers related to fuel cell technology, and presented over 50 oral papers at national meetings. His current main research area is related to water transport in PEM fuel cells and PEM fuel cell durability. Recently, he was awarded the 2005 DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award for the most significant R&D contribution of the year for his team's work in fuel cell durability and was the Principal Investigator for the 2004 Fuel Cell Seminar (San Antonio, TX, USA) Best Poster Award. Jeremy Meyers is an Assistant Professor of materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where his research focuses on the development of electrochemical energy systems and materials. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas, Jeremy workedmore » as manager of the advanced transportation technology group at UTC Power, where he was responsible for developing new system designs and components for automotive PEM fuel cell power plants. While at UTC Power, Jeremy led several customer development projects and a DOE-sponsored investigation into novel catalysts and membranes for PEM fuel cells. Jeremy has coauthored several papers on key mechanisms of fuel cell degradation and is a co-inventor of several patents. In 2006, Jeremy and several colleagues received the George Mead Medal, UTC's highest award for engineering achievement, and he served as the co-chair of the Gordon Research Conference on fuel cells. Jeremy received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. Bryan Pivovar received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1994. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota in 2000 under the direction of Profs. Ed Cussler and Bill Smyrl, studying transport properties in fuel cell electrolytes. He continued working in the area of polymer electrolyte fuel cells at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a post-doc (2000-2001), as a technical staff member (2001-2005), and in his current position as a team leader (2005-present). In this time, Bryan's research has expanded to include further aspects of fuel cell operation, including electrodes, subfreezing effects, alternative polymers, hydroxide conductors, fuel cell interfaces, impurities, water transport, and high-temperature membranes. Bryan has served at various levels in national and international conferences and workshops, including organizing a DOE sponsored workshop on freezing effects in fuel cells and an ARO sponsored workshop on alkaline membrane fuel cells, and he was co-chair of the 2007 Gordon Research Conference on Fuel Cells. Minoru Inaba is a Professor at the Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Doshisha University, Japan. He received his B.Sc. from the Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, in 1984 and his M.Sc. in 1986 and his Dr. Eng. in 1995 from the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. He has worked on electrochemical energy conversion systems including fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries at Kyoto University (1992-2002) and at Doshisha University (2002-present). His primary research interest is the durability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), in particular, membrane degradation, and he has been involved in NEDO R&D research projects on PEFC durability since 2001. He has authored over 140 technical papers and 30 review articles. Kenichiro Ota is a Professor of the Chemical Energy Laboratory at the Graduate School of Engineering, Yokohama National University, Japan. He received his B.S.E. in Applied Chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1968 and his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1973. He has worked on hydrogen energy and fuel cells since 1974, working on materials science for fuel cells and water electrolysis. He has published more than 150 original papers, 70 review papers, and 50 scientific books. He is now the president of the Hydrogen Energy Systems Society of Japan, the chairman of the Fuel Cell Research Group of the Electrochemical Society of Japan, and the chairman of the National Committee for the Standardization of the Stationary Fuel Cells. ABSTRACT TRUNCATED« less
2,921 citations
TL;DR: Technical Challenges 4754 4.2.1.
Abstract: 3.8.2. Temperature Distribution Measurements 4749 3.8.3. Two-Phase Visualization 4750 3.8.4. Experimental Validation 4751 3.9. Modeling the Catalyst Layer at Pore Level 4751 3.10. Summary and Outlook 4752 4. Direct Methanol Fuel Cells 4753 4.1. Technical Challenges 4754 4.1.1. Methanol Oxidation Kinetics 4754 4.1.2. Methanol Crossover 4755 4.1.3. Water Management 4755 4.1.4. Heat Management 4756 4.2. DMFC Modeling 4756 4.2.1. Needs for Modeling 4756 4.2.2. DMFC Models 4756 4.3. Experimental Diagnostics 4757 4.4. Model Validation 4758 4.5. Summary and Outlook 4760 5. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells 4760 5.1. SOFC Models 4761 5.2. Summary and Outlook 4762 6. Closing Remarks 4763 7. Acknowledgments 4763 8. References 4763
1,132 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) has been evaluated in the context of fuel cell systems, considering their structure-property relationship.
1,127 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed more than 100 references related to water management in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, with a particular focus on the issue of water flooding, its diagnosis and mitigation.
841 citations
01 Jan 2008
787 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, an isothermal, one-dimensional, steady-state model for a complete polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) with a 117 Nation | membrane is presented, which predicts an increase in membrane resistance with increased current density and demonstrates the great advantage of a thinner membrane in alleviating this resistance problem.
Abstract: We present here an isothermal, one-dimensional, steady-state model for a complete polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) with a 117 Nation | membrane. In this model we employ water diffusion coefficients electro-osmotic drag coefficients, water sorption isotherms, and membrane conductivities, all measured in our laboratory as functions of membrane water content. The model pre.dicts a net-water-per-proton flux ratio of 0.2 H20/H § under typical operating conditions, which is much less than the measured electro-osmotic drag coefficient for a fully hydrated membrane. It also predicts an increase in membrane resistance with increased current density and demonstrates the great advantage of a thinner membrane in alleviating this resistance problem. Both of these predictions were verified experimentally under certain conditions.
3,013 citations
Book•
01 Oct 1991
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the principles of transport in porous media and compare the available predicted results, based on theoretical treatments of various transport mechanisms, with the existing experimental results, and the theoretical treatment is based on the volume-averaging of the momentum and energy equations with the closure conditions necessary for obtaining solutions.
Abstract: Although the empirical treatment of fluid flow and heat transfer in porous media is over a century old, only in the last three decades has the transport in these heterogeneous systems been addressed in detail. So far, single-phase flows in porous media have been treated or at least formulated satisfactorily, while the subject of two-phase flow and the related heat-transfer in porous media is still in its infancy. This book identifies the principles of transport in porous media and compares the available predicted results, based on theoretical treatments of various transport mechanisms, with the existing experimental results. The theoretical treatment is based on the volume-averaging of the momentum and energy equations with the closure conditions necessary for obtaining solutions. While emphasizing a basic understanding of heat transfer in porous media, this book does not ignore the need for predictive tools; whenever a rigorous theoretical treatment of a phenomena is not available, semi-empirical and empirical treatments are given.
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TL;DR: In this article, the effects of a solid boundary and the inertial forces on flow and heat transfer in porous media were analyzed, and a new concept of the momentum boundary layer central to the numerical routine was presented.
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TL;DR: In this article, a mathematical model of the solid polymer-electrolyte fuel cell is presented to investigate factors that limit cell performance and elucidate the mechanism of species transport in the complex network of gas, liquid, and solid phases of the cell.
Abstract: This paper presents a mathematical model of the solid-polymer-electrolyte fuel cell and apply it to (i) investigate factors that limit cell performance and (ii) elucidate the mechanism of species transport in the complex network of gas, liquid, and solid phases of the cell. Calculations of cell polarization behavior compare favorably with existing experimental data. For most practical electrode thicknesses, model results indicate that the volume fraction of the cathode available for gas transport must exceed 20% in order to avoid unacceptably low cell-limiting current densities. It is shown that membrane dehydration can also pose limitations on operating current density; circumvention of this problem by appropriate membrane and electrode design and efficient water-management schemes is discussed. The authors' model results indicate that for a broad range of practical current densities there are no external water requirements because the water produced at the cathode is enough to satisfy the water requirement of the membrane.
1,313 citations