Water transport in the Porous Transport Layer (PTL) plays an important role in the efficient operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Excessive water content as well as dry operating conditions are unfavorable for efficient and reliable operation of the fuel cell. The effect of thermal conductivity and porosity on water management are investigated by simulating two-phase flow in the PTL of the fuel cell using a network model. In the model, the PTL consists of a pore-phase and a solid-phase. Different models of the PTLs are generated using independent Weibull distributions for the pore-phase and the solid-phase. The specific arrangement of the pores and solid elements is varied to obtain different PTL realizations for the same Weibull parameters. The properties of PTL are varied by changing the porosity and thermal conductivity. The parameters affecting operating conditions include the temperature, relative humidity in the flow channel and voltage and current density. A parametric study of different solid-phase distributions of the PTL and its effect on thermal, vapor and liquid transport in the PTL under different operating conditions are discussed.
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ASME 2013 11th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology collocated with the ASME 2013 Heat Transfer Summer Conference and the ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability
July 14–19, 2013
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Advanced Energy Systems Division
- Solar Energy Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5552-2
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Effect of Porosity and Thermal Conductivity of a Porous Transport Layer on Saturation and Thermal Transport in a Low-Temperature Fuel Cell
Vinaykumar Konduru,
Vinaykumar Konduru
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
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Ezequiel Medici,
Ezequiel Medici
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
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Jeffrey S. Allen
Jeffrey S. Allen
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Search for other works by this author on:
Vinaykumar Konduru
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Ezequiel Medici
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Jeffrey S. Allen
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Paper No:
FuelCell2013-18160, V001T03A005; 6 pages
Published Online:
December 22, 2013
Citation
Konduru, V, Medici, E, & Allen, JS. "Effect of Porosity and Thermal Conductivity of a Porous Transport Layer on Saturation and Thermal Transport in a Low-Temperature Fuel Cell." Proceedings of the ASME 2013 11th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology collocated with the ASME 2013 Heat Transfer Summer Conference and the ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. ASME 2013 11th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. July 14–19, 2013. V001T03A005. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/FuelCell2013-18160
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