PORE-SCALE SIMULATION OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN PEMFC MICRO-POROUS LAYERS

Wang Mengli; Zhu Lijun; Duan Kangjun; Zhang Heng; Zhang Ruiming; Sui Pang-Chieh

doi:10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-0046

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Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5) : 29-36. DOI: 10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-0046

PORE-SCALE SIMULATION OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN PEMFC MICRO-POROUS LAYERS

Wang Mengli¹, Zhu Lijun², Duan Kangjun², Zhang Heng³, Zhang Ruiming¹, Sui Pang-Chieh²

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Abstract

An improved stochastic numerical method is proposed to reconstruct the three-dimensional microporous layer （MPL） model. The pore-scale method and lattice Boltzmann method are used to simulate the gas and liquid transport inside the microporous layer with different microstructures. The effects of carbon particle diameter,seed rate and volume fraction of polytetrafluoroethylene （PTFE） on gas-liquid transport were studied by comparing effective gas diffusivity and water saturation. The simulation results show that the MPL effective gas diffusivity increases with porosity and carbon particle’s diameter. In contrast,it decreases with the increase of the volume fraction of polytetrafluoroethylene （PTFE） and the seed rate. It is also found that the MPL’s liquid water transport capability increases with particle diameter and the decrease of the seed rate. Moreover,the liquid water transport is the most favorable when the volume fraction of PTFE is 15%. This study provides theoretical support for the optimal design of MPLs.

Key words

proton exchange membrane fuel cells / reconstruction / gas diffusion / liquid transport / micro-porous layer

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Wang Mengli, Zhu Lijun, Duan Kangjun, Zhang Heng, Zhang Ruiming, Sui Pang-Chieh. PORE-SCALE SIMULATION OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN PEMFC MICRO-POROUS LAYERS[J]. Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica. 2025, 46(5): 29-36 https://doi.org/10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-0046

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