Experimental investigation of the effect of bioinspired flow field design on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

المجلة: International Journal of Ionics – The Science and Technology of Ionic Motion

سنة النشر: 2024

تاريخ النشر: 2024-05-30

Flow fields are a primary component of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the components supplying fuel cells with reactant gases, such as hydrogen and oxygen. However, the flow fields of fuel cells are limited by the nonuniform poor distribution of reactant gases, unintended pressure drop across channels, and poor water management, among other issues. Thus, relevant designs must focus on obtaining the lowest possible pressure drop while attaining the best possible distribution of reactant gases, further improving cell performance. In this work, the impact of novel bioinspired flow field designs on PEMFC performance was investigated. Three flow field configurations, namely, sunflower-inspired flow field (SUFF), flower of life-inspired flow field (FLFF), and palm frond-inspired flow field (PAFF), were designed, as inspired by the shape of the sunflower (i.e., flower of life and palm frond). Results revealed that the optimal operating conditions for the fuel cell were 1 L/min and 1.1 bar. The bioinspired configurations significantly affected PEMFC performance at a low voltage (< 0.645 V), but the impact was negligible at a high voltage (> 0.645 V). Furthermore, the ohmic loss region and the concentration loss region were both significantly improved by the bioinspired designs. The maximum power density was significantly increased for SUFF, FLFF, PAFF1, and PAFF2 by 16.84%, 6.07%, 6.32%, and 10.40%, respectively

Corrugation characteristics effect of channel on heat transfer and pressure Drop: Experimental study

المجلة: International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow

سنة النشر: 2024

تاريخ النشر: 2024-02-28

the potentials of such configuration in terms of heat transfer and hydrodynamic performance. The subjected heat flux on these wavy walls (sinusoidal wavy plates) were (500, 750, and 1000) W /m2. The ratio of corrugation wavelength (λ) to corrugation amplitude (a) had a range of (5.7–12.6), and the four wavy channels are scrutinized at zero angles (0◦) of phase shift. According to the applied range of Reynolds number which is (1.932 × 103–3.286 × 103) and duct entrance dimension, the supplied inlet velocities were (0.3––0.67) m/s. The collected outcomes of the tested wavy sections showed a gained in heat transfer coefficient of (11–39 %) compared to the conventional duct, this increase is originally came out due to the occurred gained of the enhancement factors which is (1.1–1.4). regarding the pressure drop, the acquired decay of the wavy channels is (17–45 %) compared to the conventional channels. Also the results showed the corrugation angle 54.5◦ is the best in terms of thermal performance factor TPF at Re ≈ 3300 with appreciable high pressure drop, while the corrugation angle of 32.5◦ has a poor TPF at Re ≈ 1950.

The Effect of Flow Field Design Parameters on the Performance of PEMFC: A Review

المجلة: Sustainability

سنة النشر: 2023

تاريخ النشر: 2023-06-30

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell is essentially utilized to generate energy with zero emission. There are many drawbacks in PEMFC, such as the mal-distribution of reactants, water management between the catalyst layer and the GDL, and the mass transport issue of reactants. Flow field design parameters can overcome these problems to improve cell performance. Where the flow field is an essential element of the fuel cell, and it is designed to provide the required amount of both hydrogen and oxygen with the lowest possible pressure drop on the anode and cathode sides, respectively. In this paper, the cell performance with different flow field design parameters, such as conventional flow field configuration, nature-inspired flow field configuration, and geometric parameters, as well as their modifications, is reviewed in detail. It has been demonstrated through the current review paper that the flow field design parameters can significantly affect the overall behavior of PEMFC, and each design parameter has advantages and disadvantages that make the flow fields suitable for specific applications.

Investigation of heat transfer augmentation in a horizontal tube using different rectangular cut ring inserts

المجلة: HEAT TRANSFER

سنة النشر: 2022

تاريخ النشر: 2022-09-07

Experimental and computational investigations have studied the heat transfer, friction factor, and enhancement of heat transfer in a horizontal tube equipped with rectangular cut ring inserts and different diameter ratios (D/d) and pitch‐to‐tube diameter ratios (p/dt). In the present study, air having a Reynolds no. range of 6700–20,100 was used as a working fluid. Three diameter ratios (D/d) were considered experimentally and numerically as 1.2, 1.25, and 1.3, and the pitch‐totube diameter ratio (p/dt) was (1, 0.625, and 0.5). Air was forced as working fluid through the tube and a uniform heat flux of 2000, 3500, and 5000 W/m2 was applied through the tube's exterior surface. On the basis of the turbulence model k–ɛ with various parameters, three‐dimensional numerical simulations using the ANSYS Fluent software 17.2 were investigated. Under the same working conditions, the results manifested a higher heat transfer rate and friction factor as compared to the plain tube.