The use of fuel cells as an alternative to traditional small scale power producing devices such as internal combustion engines or disposable batteries has continued to gain widespread acceptance. Flow maldistribution within cells in a stack continues to be an issue in fuel cell design and can adversely affect performance and longevity. Current research in this field has focused on effects of inlet configurations (plug flow versus circular inlet, for example) on the flow in a rectangular manifold and the resulting distribution into individual cells in the stack. In a typical small scale application, the piping which transports the reactant will contain bends in it. As these bends can introduce Dean vortices and flow asymmetries within the pipe flow, such conditions should be examined to determine whether they will affect the manifold flow and further impact cell maldistribution. A simplified scaled up model of a PEM fuel cell was fitted with different inlet flow configurations, including straight piping and piping containing a 90 degree bend prior to entering the manifold. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to obtain mean and fluctuating velocity statistics within the manifold and in individual cells. These distributions will be compared with previous results obtained from this apparatus corresponding to a partially developed square inlet profile, as well as available experimental and computational data in the literature.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2011 9th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology collocated with ASME 2011 5th International Conference on Energy Sustainability
August 7–10, 2011
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Advanced Energy Systems Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5469-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Effect of Inlet Flow Conditions on Flow Uniformity in a PEM Fuel Cell Available to Purchase
Lisa M. Grega,
Lisa M. Grega
The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ
Search for other works by this author on:
Steven Voinier
Steven Voinier
The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ
Search for other works by this author on:
Lisa M. Grega
The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ
Steven Voinier
The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ
Paper No:
FuelCell2011-54233, pp. 583-590; 8 pages
Published Online:
March 22, 2012
Citation
Grega, LM, & Voinier, S. "Effect of Inlet Flow Conditions on Flow Uniformity in a PEM Fuel Cell." Proceedings of the ASME 2011 9th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology collocated with ASME 2011 5th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. ASME 2011 9th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. Washington, DC, USA. August 7–10, 2011. pp. 583-590. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/FuelCell2011-54233
Download citation file:
13
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Flow Characterization of a Polymer Electronic Membrane Fuel Cell Manifold and Individual Cells Using Particle Image Velocimetry
J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol (August,2007)
Computational Fluid Dynamics Application of the Diffusion-Inertia Model to Bubble Flows and Boiling Water Problems
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (December,2010)
A Universal, Nonintrusive Method for Correcting the Reading of a Flow Meter in Pipe Flow Disturbed by Installation Effects
J. Fluids Eng (September,2002)
Related Chapters
Cavitating Structures at Inception in Turbulent Shear Flow
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)
Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation and Design of PEM Fuel Cell
Inaugural US-EU-China Thermophysics Conference-Renewable Energy 2009 (UECTC 2009 Proceedings)
Introduction I: Role of Engineering Science
Fundamentals of heat Engines: Reciprocating and Gas Turbine Internal Combustion Engines