Numerical Simulation of Fractal Tree-Shaped Flow Field Structures in PEMFC

2012 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 32-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Hua Dong ◽  
Shun Fang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Fractal Theory ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Field Structure ◽  
Proton Exchange

The fractal tree-shaped structure such as tree, plant root, leaves, animal lung and so on is universal and unique in nature. These structures possess the symmetric micro-channel distributions and the efficient transport characteristics. They are considered to be an optimal network channel of mass transfer and heat transfer. The mass transfer and heat transfer feature of bipolar plate in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is similar with animal lungs and leaves. In this paper, fractal theory is used to study tree-shaped flow field structure of bipolar plate in PEMFC. It is demonstrated by numerical simulation that fractal tree-shaped flow field structure can provide substantially flow-field distribution, current density and heat transfer compared to the traditional flow field structure.

scholarly journals Design and Modelling of 3D Bionic Cathode Flow Field for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6044
Author(s):  
Lingfeng Xuan ◽  
Yancheng Wang ◽  
Deqing Mei ◽  
Jingwei Lan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Structural Design ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Porous Electrodes ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been utilized as a promising power source for new energy vehicles. Their performances are greatly affected by the structural design of the flow field in the bipolar plate. In this paper, we present a novel three-dimensional (3D) bionic cathode flow field, inspired by the small intestinal villi. The structural design and working principle of the 3D bionic flow field units are first described. A 3D numerical model is developed to study the mass transfer and distribution of the reactants and products, as well as the polarization performances of the PEMFC with the 3D bionic cathode flow field. The simulation results indicate that the proposed 3D bionic flow field can significantly improve the reaction gas supply from the flow field to porous electrodes, and thus would be beneficial for the removal of liquid water in the cathode. The mass transfer of gas in the PEMFC can be enhanced due to the increasing contact areas between the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the cathode flow field, and the distribution of currents in the membrane would be more uniform. The obtained results demonstrated the feasibility of using the 3D bionic flow field for the development of highly efficient PEMFCs with high power density.

Numerical Simulation of a Novel Bipolar Plate Flow Field of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

2011 ◽  
Vol 215 ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
Chong Da Lu ◽  
Peng Fei Gao ◽  
Wei Fang Wang ◽  
Dong Hui Wen
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Great Sense ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Reactive Gas

This paper proposes a novel bipolar plate flow field of PEMFC with the intersectant microstructure. Numerical simulation about both the flow velocity distribution and the pressure distribution for the reactive gas were accomplished according to the model building by Pro/E, grid meshing and boundary condition specifying by Fluent. Compared to traditional serpentine flow fields, the gas pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet of this novel flow field is appropriate to promptly discharge the water produced during the operation of the PEMFC, and the flow velocity of the reactive gas among all the flow field is well-distributed, which assures reactions occurring uniformly in the flow field under the bipolar plate. All the properties of this novel flow field make a great sense to improve the integrated performance of the PEMFC.

Numerical Modeling of Velocity and Temperature Distributions in a Bipolar Plate of PEM Electrolysis Cell With Greatly Improved Flow Uniformity

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jephanya Kasukurthi ◽  
K. M. Veepuri ◽  
Jianhu Nie ◽  
Yitung Chen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Distribution ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Electrolysis Cell ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Temperature Distributions ◽  
Pem Electrolysis

In this present work, finite volume method was used to simulate the three-dimensional water flow and heat transfer in a flow field plate of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis cell. The standard k-ε model together with standard wall function method was used to model three-dimensional fluid flow and heat transfer. First, numerical simulations were performed for a basic bipolar plate and it was found that the flow distribution inside the channels in not uniform. The design of the basic bipolar plate has been changed to a new model, which is featured with multiple inlets and multiple outlets. Numerical results show that the flow and temperature distributions for the new design become much homogeneous.

A novel intersectant flow field of metal bipolar plate for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (14) ◽  
pp. 2184-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Dong-Hui ◽  
Yin Lin-Zhi ◽  
Piao Zhong-Yu ◽  
Lu Cong-Da ◽  
Li Gang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Exchange Membrane
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