Numerical simulations for optimizing the liquid water transport in the gas diffusion layer and gas channels of a PEMFC
YANG Jiapei1, MA Xiao1, LEI Timan3, LUO Kai H.2,3, SHUAI Shijin1
1. State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; 2. Center for Combustion Energy, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; 3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Abstract：The multiple-relation-time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann method with a high-density-ratio two-phase model was used to simulate liquid water transport in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and gas channels of a high-current-density fuel cell. The results show the effects of Reynolds number, perforation shapes and locations in the GDL and the angles of the wave-like gas channels on the water transport. The results show that the GDL and the gas channels should be optimized together to improve the water removal rate. In addition, the results show that the water begins running out of the GDL at earlier times as the Reynolds number increases with the times not related to the wave-like gas channel angle or the perforation shape or location. The structural optimization of the perforated GDL and the wave-like gas channels can guide future designs of fuel cells with high current densities.
杨家培, 马骁, 雷体蔓, 罗开红, 帅石金. 燃料电池扩散层与流道中液态水传输数值模拟与协同优化[J]. 清华大学学报（自然科学版）, 2019, 59(7): 580-586.
YANG Jiapei, MA Xiao, LEI Timan, LUO Kai H., SHUAI Shijin. Numerical simulations for optimizing the liquid water transport in the gas diffusion layer and gas channels of a PEMFC. Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology), 2019, 59(7): 580-586.
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2019, Vol. 59 
