Visualization of water transport in GDL and flow channel of PEMFC

Liquid water penetrating the gas diffusion layer (GDL) of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was studied. The gas diffuse layer (GDL) has a great impact on PEMFC's performanc3e, and is an important component of a PEMFC. An ex‐situ test was conducted on a transparent test cell to visualize the water droplet formation and detachment on the surface of different types of GDLs through a CCD camera. The breakthrough pressure, at which the liquid water penetrates the GDL and starts to form a droplet, was measured. The breakthrough pressure was found to be different for GDLs with different porosities and thicknesses. The equilibrium pressure, which is defined as the minimum pressure required for maintaining a constant flow through the GDL, was also recorded. The equilibrium pressure was found to be much lower than the breakthrough pressure for the same type of GDL. Also the drain performance using three kinds of different bipolar plates were compared in this paper. According to the result of experiment, the average diameters of porous GDLs were found determining the penetrating pressure. Serpentine flow channel proved the best pattern for drainage. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20330     

Evaluating Breakthrough Pressure in Gas Diffusion Layers of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

This paper studied the breakthrough pressure for liquid water to penetrate the gas diffusion layer(GDL) of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC).An ex-situ testing was conducted on a transparent test cell to visualize the water droplet formation and detachment on the surface of different types of GDLs through a CCD camera.The breakthrough pressure,at which the liquid water penetrates the GDL and starts to form a droplet,was measured.The breakthrough pressure was found to be different for the GDLs with...     

Water permeation through gas diffusion layers of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Water transport through gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuels cells is investigated experimentally. A filtration cell is designed and the permeation threshold and the apparent water permeability of several carbon papers are investigated. Similar carbon paper with different thicknesses and different Teflon loadings are tested to study the effects of geometrical and surface properties on the water transport. Permeation threshold increases with both GDL thickness and Teflon loading. In addition, a hysteresis effect exists in GDLs and the permeation threshold reduces as the samples are retested. Moreover, several compressed GDLs are tested and the results show that compression does not affect the breakthrough pressure significantly. The measured values of apparent permeability indicate that the majority of pores in GDLs are not filled with water and the reactant access to the catalyst layer is not hindered.     

Water management studies in PEM fuel cells,part III: Dynamic breakthrough and intermittent drainage characteristics from GDLs with and without MPLs

The transport of liquid water and gaseous reactants through a gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the most important water management issues in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In this work, the liquid water breakthrough dynamics, characterized by the capillary pressure and water saturation, across GDLs with and without a microporous layer (MPL) are studied in an ex-situ setup which closely simulates a real fuel cell configuration and operating conditions. The results reveal that recurrent breakthroughs are observed for all of the GDL samples tested, indicating the presence of an intermittent water drainage mechanism in the GDL. This is accounted for by the breakdown and redevelopment of the continuous water paths during water drainage as demonstrated by Haines jumps. For GDL samples without MPL, a dynamic change of breakthrough locations is observed, which originates from the rearrangement of the water configuration in the GDL following the drainage. For GDL samples with MPL, no dynamic change of breakthrough location can be found and the water saturation is significantly lower than the samples without MPL. These results suggest that the MPL not only limits the number of water entry locations into the GDL (such that the water saturation is drastically reduced), but also stabilizes the water paths (or morphology). The effect of MPL on the two-phase flow dynamics in gas channels is also studied with multi-channel flow experiments. The most important result is that GDL without MPL promotes film flow and shifts the slug-to-film flow transition to lower air flow rates, compared with the case of GDL with MPL. This is closely related to the larger number of water breakthrough locations through GDL without MPL, which promotes the formation of water film.     

Dynamic water transport and droplet emergence in PEMFC gas diffusion layers

The dynamics of liquid water transport through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and into a gas flow channel are investigated with an ex situ experimental setup. Liquid water is injected through the bottom surface of the GDL, and the through-plane liquid pressure drop, droplet emergence and droplet detachment are studied. The dynamic behaviour of water transport in and on the surface of the GDL is observed through fluorescence microscopy, and the through-plane liquid pressure drop is measured with a pressure transducer. With an initially dry GDL, the initial breakthrough of liquid water in the GDL is preceded by a substantial growth of liquid water pressure. Post-breakthrough, droplets emerge with a high frequency, until a quasi-equilibrium liquid water pressure is achieved. The droplet emergence/detachment regime is followed by a transition into a slug formation regime. During the slug formation regime, droplets tend to pin near the breakthrough location, and the overall channel water content increases due to pinning and the formation of water slugs. Droplets emerge from the GDL at preferential breakthrough locations; however, these breakthrough locations change intermittently, suggesting a dynamic interconnection of water pathways within the GDL. The experiments are complemented by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using the volume of fluid method to illustrate the dynamic eruption mechanism.     

Experimental investigations on liquid water removal from the gas diffusion layer by reactant flow in a PEM fuel cell

The cross flow from channel to channel through gas diffusion layer (GDL) under the land could play an important role for water removal in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this study, characteristics of liquid water removal from GDL have been investigated experimentally, through measuring unsteady pressure drop in a cell which has the GDL initially wet with liquid water. The thickness of GDL is carefully controlled by inserting various thicknesses of metal shims between the plates. It has been found that severe compression of GDL could result in excessive pressure drop from channel inlet to channel outlet. Removing liquid water from GDL by cross flow is difficult for GDL with high compression levels and for low inlet air flow rates. However, effective water removal can still be achieved at high compression levels of GDL if the inlet air flow rate is high. Based on different compressed GDL thicknesses, different GDL porosities and permeabilities were calculated and their effects on the characteristics of liquid water removal from GDL were evaluated. Visualization of liquid water transport has been conducted by using transparent flow channel, and liquid water removal from GDL under the land was observed for all the tested inlet air flow rates, which confirms that cross flow is practically effective to remove the liquid water accumulated in GDL under the land area.     

Steady saturation distribution in hydrophobic gas-diffusion layers of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: A pore-network study

A pore-network model is developed to simulate liquid water transport in a hydrophobic gas-diffusion layer (GDL) during the operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The steady saturation distribution in GDLs is determined through a numerical procedure using a pore-network model combined with invasion-percolation path-finding and subsequent viscous two-phase flow calculation. The simulation results indicate that liquid water transport in hydrophobic GDLs is a strongly capillary-driven process that almost reaches the pure invasion-percolation limit with zero capillary number. A uniform flux condition is found to better reflect the actual phenomenon occurring at the inlet boundary for liquid water entering a GDL than a uniform pressure condition. The simulation further clarifies the effect of the invaded pore fraction at a uniform-flux inlet boundary in modifying water transport in GDLs. Finally, the effect of the GDL thickness on the steady saturation distribution is investigated.     

Liquid water breakthrough pressure through gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The dynamic behavior of liquid water transport through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell is studied with an ex-situ approach. The liquid water breakthrough pressure is measured in the region between the capillary fingering and the stable displacement on the drainage phase diagram. The variables studied are GDL thickness, PTFE/Nafion content within the GDL, GDL compression, the inclusion of a micro-porous layer (MPL), and different water flow rates through the GDL. The liquid water breakthrough pressure is observed to increase with GDL thickness, GDL compression, and inclusion of the MPL. Furthermore, it has been observed that applying some amount of PTFE to an untreated GDL increases the breakthrough pressure but increasing the amount of PTFE content within the GDL shows minimal impact on the breakthrough pressure. For instance, the mean breakthrough pressures that have been measured for TGP-060 and for untreated (0 wt.% PTFE), 10 wt.% PTFE, and 27 wt.% PTFE were 3589 Pa, 5108 Pa, and 5284 Pa, respectively.     

Effect of gas diffusion layer properties on the time of breakthrough

A visualization technique is employed to measure the time of breakthrough for GDL samples with different characteristics. It is shown that the time of breakthrough is reversely proportional to the hydrophobic content of the GDL sample. The effects of the GDL thickness and injection flow rate on the time of breakthrough are also studied. The results show that the capillary pressure of a thin porous medium is not independent from the time of breakthrough. Thus, it is not legitimate to calculate the saturation of the medium by multiplication of the flow rate and time of breakthrough. These findings help better understanding of flooding phenomena, which may lead to the development of more effective GDLs for PEM fuel cell.     

Numerical simulation of two‐phase cross flow in the gas diffusion layer microstructure of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The cross flow in the under‐land gas diffusion layer (GDL) between 2 adjacent channels plays an important role on water transport in proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A 3‐dimensional (3D) two‐phase model that is based on volume of fluid is developed to study the liquid water‐air cross flow within the GDL between 2 adjacent channels. By considering the detailed GDL microstructures, various types of air‐water cross flows are investigated by 3D numerical simulation. Liquid water at 4 locations is studied, including droplets at the GDL surface and liquid at the GDL‐catalyst layer interface. It is found that the water droplet at the higher‐pressure channel corner is easier to be removed by cross flow compared with droplets at other locations. Large pressure difference Δp facilitates the faster water removal from the higher‐pressure channel. The contact angle of the GDL fiber is the key parameter that determines the cross flow of the droplet in the higher‐pressure channel. It is observed that the droplet in the higher‐pressure channel is difficult to flow through the hydrophobic GDL. Numerical simulations are also performed to investigate the water emerging process from different pores of the GDL bottom. It is found that the amount of liquid water removed by cross flow mainly depends on the pore's location, and the water under the land is removed entirely into the lower‐pressure channel by cross flow.     

Numerical investigations on liquid water removal from the porous gas diffusion layer by reactant flow

Water removal from the gas diffusion layer (GDL) is crucial for the efficient operation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Static pressure gradient caused by the fast reactant flow in the flow channel is one of the main mechanisms of water removal from GDL. Reactant can leak or cross directly to the neighboring channel via the porous GDL in the cells with serpentine flow channel and many of its modifications. Such cross flow plays an important role for the removal of liquid water accumulated in the GDL especially under land area. To investigate the characteristics of liquid water behavior in the GDL under pressure gradient, the fibrous porous structure of the carbon paper is modeled by three dimensional impermeable cylinders randomly distributed in the in-plane directions and unsteady two-phase simulations are conducted. It is shown that the permeability from the numerical model matches well the experimental measurements of the common GDLs in the literature. The contact angle and pressure gradient are the key parameters that determine the initiation and the process of liquid water transport in the GDL which is initially wet with stagnant liquid water. It has been observed that the larger contact angle results in faster water removal from the GDL. Numerical simulations are performed for a wide range of pressure gradient with different contact angles to determine the minimum pressure gradient that initiates the liquid water transport in the GDL. It is found that the amount of pressure gradient caused by the cross flow is sufficient and effective to get rid of the liquid water accumulated in the GDL. The simulation results are also compared with experimental data in literature showing a good agreement. The characteristics of liquid water discharging from the gas diffusion layer are also described.     

Gas diffusion through differently structured gas diffusion layers of PEM fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) gas diffusion layers (GDLs) play important parts in diffusing gas, discharging liquid water, and conducting electricity, etc. When liquid water is discharged through GDL to gas channel, there will be some pores of GDLs occupied by liquid water. In this study, based on a one-dimensional model, the distribution of liquid water phase saturation is analyzed for different GDL structures including GDL with uniform porosity, GDL with sudden change porosity (GDL with microporous layer (MPL)) and GDL with gradient porosity distribution. The effect on gas diffusion of the changes of porosity and liquid saturation due to water remaining in GDL pores is calculated. The conclusions are that for uniform porosity GDL, the gas diffusion increases with the increase of porosity and contact angle and increases with the decrease of the thickness of GDL; for GDL with MPL, the larger the MPL porosity and the thinner the MPL thickness are, the stronger the gas diffusion is; for gradient change porosity GDL with the same average equivalent porosity, the larger the porosity gradient is, the more easily the gas diffuses. The optimization for GDL gradient structure shows that the GDL with a linear porosity distribution of 0.4x+0.4$0.4x+0.4$ is the best of the computed cases.     

Dynamics of liquid water in the anode flow channels of PEM fuel cells: A numerical parametric study

A 3D volume of fluid (VOF) model for an anode channel in a PEM fuel cell has been built. The effects of the initial position of the water droplet, its size as well as the wettability of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) are investigated under different operating conditions. It is found that the initial position of the relatively small water droplet in the channel has almost no effect on the pressure drop and the time taken for the liquid water to move out from the channel; however, such effects become more profound as the size of the water droplet increases. Also, when the droplet is placed at the side wall of the channel, then it develops into pockets of water that are mainly located at the upper corners of the channel, thus causing a smaller pressure drop compared to the cases in which the water droplet is placed either on the surface of the GDL or on the top wall of the channel. Furthermore, the hydrogen velocity is found to have a negligible effect on the dynamics of liquid water; however, the pressure drop and removal time are significantly influenced by the hydrogen velocity. Moreover, as the size of the water droplet increases, the pressure drop increases and the time required for the liquid water to move out of the channel decreases. Finally, the pressure drop in the channel decreases and the removal time of the liquid water increases as the contact angle of the GDL decreases.     

Roughness effects of gas diffusion layers on droplet dynamics in PEMFC flow channels

Water management remains one of the major challenges in optimising the performance of PEMFCs, in which liquid accumulation and removal in gas diffusion layers (GDLs) and flow channels should be addressed. Here, effects of GDL surface roughness on the water droplet removal inside a PEMFC flow channel have been investigated using the Volume of Fluid method. Rough surfaces are generated according to realistic GDL properties by incorporating RMS roughness and roughness wavelength as the main characteristic parameters. Droplet dynamics including emergence, growth, detachment, and removal in flow channels with various airflow rates are simulated on rough substrates. The influences of airflow rate on droplet dynamics are also discussed by comparing the detachment time and droplet morphology. The liquid removal efficiency subject to different surface roughness parameters is evaluated by droplet detachment time and elongation, and regimes of detachment modes are identified based on the droplet breakup location and detachment ratio. The results suggest that rough surfaces with higher RMS roughness can facilitate the removal of liquid inside flow channel. Whilst surface roughness wavelength is found less significant to the liquid removal efficiency. The results here provide qualitative assessments on identifying the key surface characteristics controlling droplet motion in PEMFC channels.     

Liquid water transport between graphite paper and a solid surface

We studied the interaction of a water droplet with a solid wall on a hydrophobic gas diffusion layer (GDL). Of particular interest is the stability of the droplet as a function of plate wetting properties and the potential for liquid entrapment in the GDL/land contact area. Such transport is of relevance to breakthrough dynamics and convective liquid droplet transport in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell cathode gas channels. While a variety of complex coupled transport phenomena are present in the PEM fuel cell gas channel, we utilize a very simplified experimental model of the system where a droplet originally placed on a hydrophobic GDL is translated quasistatically across the GDL surface by a solid surface. Transport and entrapment are imaged using fluorescence microscopy. This work provides new insights into droplet behaviour at the GDL/land interface in a PEM fuel cell and suggests that hydrophobic land areas are preferable for mitigating the accumulation of liquid water under the land area of the gas flow channels.     

Neutron radiography measurements of in-situ PEMFC liquid water saturation in 2D & 3D morphology gas diffusion layers

This work uses neutron radiography to examine the through-plane liquid water distribution of an operating polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a Sigracet SGL 25BC, a 235 μm thick, 2D straight fiber Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL). This work is performed for interdigitated flow fields at several cross flow rates, and a parallel flow field for comparison. The effect on pressure drop, effective permeability and liquid water saturation is determined. These results are compared to the previously studied Sigracet SGL 10BC, a 420 μm thick, 3D “spaghetti” fiber GDL, for comparable cross flow rates. The SGL 25BC has a higher permeability than the SGL 10BC. The 25BC has a relatively constant saturation within the GDL, from 8% to 10%, which is higher than the 10BC saturation level, between 4 and 8%. This may indicate that 2D GDLs may be better suited to low pumping power situations, while 3D GDLs may be better suited to low liquid water situations.     

Effects of porosity distribution variation on the liquid water flux through gas diffusion layers of PEM fuel cells

Flooding of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and dehydrating of the polymer electrolyte membrane have been the key problems to be solved for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). So far, almost no papers published have focused on studies of the liquid water flux through differently structured gas diffusion layers (GDLs). For gas diffusion layers including structures of uniform porosity, changes in porosity (GDL with microporous layer (MPL)) and gradient change porosity, using a one-dimensional model, the liquid saturation distribution is analyzed based on the assumption of a fixed liquid water flux through the GDL. And then the liquid water flux through the GDL is calculated based on the assumption of a fixed liquid saturation difference between the interfaces of the catalyst layer/GDL and the GDL/gas channel. Our results show that under steady-state conditions, the liquid water flux through the GDL increases as contact angle and porosity increase and as the GDL thickness decreases. When a MPL is placed between the catalyst layer and the GDL, the liquid saturation is redistributed across the MPL and GDL. This improves the liquid water draining performance. The liquid water flux through the GDL increases as the MPL porosity increases and the MPL thickness decreases. When the total thickness of the GDL and MPL is kept constant and when the MPL is thinned to 3 μm, the liquid water flux increases considerably, i.e. flooding of MEA is difficult. A GDL with a gradient of porosity is more favorable for liquid water discharge from catalyst layer into the gas channel; for the GDLs with the same equivalent porosity, the larger the gradient is, the more easily the liquid water is discharged. Of the computed cases, a GDL with a linear porosity 0.4x + 0.4 is the best.     

Anode water removal and cathode gas diffusion layer flooding in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Anode water removal (AWR) is studied as a diagnostic tool to assess cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) flooding in PEM fuel cells. This method uses a dry hydrogen stream to remove product water from the cathode, showing ideal fuel cell performance in the absence of GDL mass transfer limitations related to water. When cathode GDL flooding is limiting, the cell voltage increases as the hydrogen stoichiometry is increased. Several cathode GDLs were studied to determine the effect of microporous layer (MPL) and PTFE coating. The largest voltage gains occur with the use of cathode GDLs without an MPL since these GDLs are prone to higher liquid water saturation. Multiple GDLs are studied on the cathode side to exacerbate GDL flooding conditions to further confirm the mechanism of the AWR process. Increased temperature and lower cathode RH allow for greater overall water removal so the voltage improvement occurs faster, though this leads to quicker membrane dehydration.     

Microporous layer for water morphology control in PEMFC

We have used environmental scanning electron microscope to observe vapor condensation and liquid water morphology and breakthrough in porous layers of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. These suggest presence of large droplets and high liquid saturation at interface of the catalyst layer (CL) and gas diffusion layer (GDL), due to jump in pore size. We develop a model for morphology of liquid phase across multiple porous layers by use of both continuum and breakthrough (percolation) treatments. Using the results of this model we show the liquid morphologies deteriorate the efficiency of electrochemical reactions in CL and increase the water saturation in GDL. Then we show that inserting a microporous layer between CL and GDL reduces both the droplet size and liquid saturation and improves the cell performance.     

Gas diffusion layer deformation and its effect on the transport characteristics and performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Cell/stack assembly force can strongly affect the transport characteristics and performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) through causing the structural deformation. In this study, a mathematical model has been developed to investigate the effect of the assembly force for different gas diffusion layers (GDL) and membranes. The results indicate that the predominant deformation of the cell structure occurs in the porous GDL due to its weak mechanical strength. Thicker GDLs result into lower water content in the GDL structure, and can sustain a larger assembly force without the risk of “electrode flooding”; while thinner GDLs have higher water content, can maintain the hydration required for the membrane, and yield a better cell performance with less sensitivity to the variations in the assembly force. Thinner membranes yield better cell performance, but the cell performance is more sensitive to the changes in the assembly force. A combination of thin GDL and membrane is beneficial for better cell performance with reasonable sensitivity to the assembly force. For thinner GDLs, an optimal assembly force exists beyond which the cell performance is reduced; and practical cell assembly force will limit the GDL thickness.