Characteristics of Two-Phase Flows in a Rectangular Microchannel with a T-Junction Type Gas-Liquid Mixer

In this study, gas–liquid two-phase flows in a horizontal rectangular microchannel have been investigated. The rectangular microchannel has a hydraulic diameter of 0.235 mm, and a width and depth of 0.24 mm and 0.23 mm, respectively. A T-junction-type gas–liquid mixer was used to introduce gas and liquid in the channel. In order to know the effects of liquid properties, distilled water, ethanol, and HFE7200 were used as the test liquids, with nitrogen gas was used as the test gas. The flow pattern, the bubble length, the liquid slug length, and the bubble velocity in two-phase flow were measured with a high-speed video camera, and the void fraction was determined from the bubble velocity data and the superficial gas velocity data. In addition, the pressure drop was also measured with a calibrated differential pressure transducer. The bubble length data were compared with the calculation by the scaling law proposed by Garstecki et al. [7]. The bubble velocity data and/or the void fraction data were well correlated with the well-known drift flux model [12] with a new distribution parameter correlation developed in this study. The frictional pressure drop data were also well correlated with the Lockhart-Martinelli method with a correlation of the two-phase friction multiplier.     

Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in a multi-gas channel of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Understanding the two-phase distribution characteristics within the multi-gas channel of a fuel cell is important for improving fuel cell performance. In the paper, the volume of fluid model is used to predict the dynamic behaviour of water in the multi-gas channel, analyze the pressure drop, velocity distribution, and flow resistance coefficient between different channels, and investigate the influence of operating conditions, surface wettability and channel structure on the two-phase distribution characteristics in the channel. The results show that water undergoes the processes of growth, separation, single droplet transport, wall impact, droplet collision, liquid film formation, and liquid film transport in the multi-gas channel. Inlet velocity and surface wettability significantly affect the pressure drop, water saturation, and surface water coverage. As the inlet velocity and gas diffusion layer surface wettability increase, the flow resistance coefficient and unevenness of the distribution decrease, indicating that the in-channel flow distribution homogeneity is enhanced. The rectangular channel has better water removal and flow distribution uniformity than the tapered channel, and the unevenness of distribution decreases significantly with decreasing rectangular width, from 0.15715 to 0.00315. The research work is a guide to understanding water transport in multi-gas channels, accelerating water removal, and improving inter-channel flow distribution uniformity.     

Fundamental data on the gas–liquid two-phase flow in minichannels

We report on the results of investigations into the characteristics of an air–water isothermal two-phase flow in minichannels, that is, in capillary tubes with inner diameters of 1 mm, 2.4 mm, and 4.9 mm, also in capillary rectangular channels with an aspect ratio of 1 to 9. The directions of flow were vertical upward, horizontal and vertical downward. Based on the authors 15 years of fundamental research into the gas–liquid two-phase flows in circular tubes and rectangular channels, we summarized the characteristics of the flow phenomena in a minichannel with special attention on the flow patterns, the time varying holdup and the pressure loss. The effects of the tube diameters and aspect ratios of the channels on these flow parameters and the flow patterns were investigated. Also the correlations of the holdup and the frictional pressure drop were proposed.     

填料式饱和器稳态和动态特性的试验研究

对填料式饱和器进行了稳态及动态特性试验研究,分析了进水流量、进气流量、进水温度对空气加热加湿过程的影响,主要考察了出水温度、出气温度、进出口空气含湿量差、填料段压降和持液量等性能参数的变化规律.结果表明：在相同进水流量下,提高水气比和进水温度,可显著提高加热加湿性能;当气相速度升高时,进出口空气含湿量差减小,填料段压降及持液量升高;在动态工况下,当进口参数发生扰动时,持液量及出水温度比压降需要更长的时间才能达到新的稳定点.     

Numerical study of water management in the air flow channel of a PEM fuel cell cathode

The water management in the air flow channel of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell cathode is numerically investigated using the FLUENT software package. By enabling the volume of fraction (VOF) model, the air–water two-phase flow can be simulated under different operating conditions. The effects of channel surface hydrophilicity, channel geometry, and air inlet velocity on water behavior, water content inside the channel, and two-phase pressure drop are discussed in detail. The results of the quasi-steady-state simulations show that: (1) the hydrophilicity of reactant flow channel surface is critical for water management in order to facilitate water transport along channel surfaces or edges; (2) hydrophilic surfaces also increase pressure drop due to liquid water spreading; (3) a sharp corner channel design could benefit water management because it facilitates water accumulation and provides paths for water transport along channel surface opposite to gas diffusion layer; (4) the two-phase pressure drop inside the air flow channel increases almost linearly with increasing air inlet velocity.     

模拟贯穿裂纹内高速气液两相流动特性研究

压力管道和容器发生贯穿泄漏会引发严重的事故,合理估算贯穿泄漏量具有重要的工程意义.以矩形狭缝通道模拟贯穿裂纹,开展了高压氩气-水贯穿模拟裂纹的高速流动可视化试验研究,狭缝长度为20 mm,间隙宽度为80～180 μm.狭缝进口压力大于5 MPa,液体的表观速度为0.05～58.62 m/s,气体表观速度为1.71～34...     

Exact solution of two phase stratified flow through the pipes for non-Newtonian Herschel–Bulkley fluids

Steady state, laminar and fully developed stratified two phase flow including two immiscible fluids through the pipe has been studied analytically. One of the phases is Newtonian and the other one is non-Newtonian which obeys the Herschel–Bulkley fluid model. The dimensionless velocity distribution, Martinelli correction factor and non-Newtonian liquid holdup have been reported. The effect of interface curvature and wide range of viscosity ratio of two phases on flow behavior has been investigated. The results illustrate that the non-Newtonian rheological properties have significant effects on dimensionless velocity and consequently on two phase flow pressure drop specially for larger viscosity ratio.     

Water management studies in PEM fuel cells, part IV: Effects of channel surface wettability, geometry and orientation on the two-phase flow in parallel gas channels

In this study, the effects of channel surface wettability, cross-sectional geometry and orientation on the two-phase flow in parallel gas channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are investigated. Ex situ experiments were conducted in flow channels with three different surface wettability (hydrophilically coated, uncoated, and hydrophobically coated), three cross-sectional geometries (rectangular, sinusoidal and trapezoidal), and two orientations (vertical and horizontal). Flow pattern map, individual channel flow variation due to maldistribution, pressure drop and flow visualization images were used to analyze the two-phase flow characteristics. It is found that hydrophilically coated gas channels are advantageous over uncoated or slightly hydrophobic channels regarding uniform water and gas flow distribution and favoring film flow, the most desirable two-phase flow pattern in PEMFC gas channels. Sinusoidal channels favor film flow and have lower pressure drop than rectangular and trapezoidal channels, while the rectangular and trapezoidal channels behave similarly to each other. Vertical channel orientation is advantageous over horizontal orientation because the latter is more prone to slug flow, nonuniform liquid water distribution and instable operation.     

A critical review of two-phase flow in gas flow channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Water management in PEM fuel cells has received extensive attention due to its key role in fuel cell performance. The unavoidable water, from humidified gas streams and electrochemical reaction, leads to gas-liquid two-phase flow in the flow channels of fuel cells. The presence of two-phase flow increases the complexity in water management in PEM fuel cells, which remains a challenging hurdle in the commercialization of this technology. Unique water emergence from the gas diffusion layer, which is different from conventional gas-liquid two-phase flow where water is introduced from the inlet together with the gas, leads to different gas-liquid flow behaviors, including pressure drop, flow pattern, and liquid holdup along flow field channels. These parameters are critical in flow field design and fuel cell operation and therefore two-phase flow has received increasing attention in recent years. This review emphasizes gas-liquid two-phase flow in minichannels or microchannels related to PEM fuel cell applications. In situ and ex situ experimental setups have been utilized to visualize and quantify two-phase flow phenomena in terms of flow regime maps, flow maldistribution, and pressure drop measurements. Work should continue to make the results more relevant for operating PEM fuel cells. Numerical simulations have progressed greatly, but conditions relevant to the length scales and time scales experienced by an operating fuel cell have not been realized. Several mitigation strategies exist to deal with two-phase flow, but often at the expense of overall cell performance due to parasitic power losses. Thus, experimentation and simulation must continue to progress in order to develop a full understanding of two-phase flow phenomena so that meaningful mitigation strategies can be implemented.     

Forchheimer's inertial effect on liquid water removal in proton exchange membrane fuel cells with baffled flow channels

In this study, a two-dimensional, two-phase, non-isothermal and steady-state modified model of proton exchange membrane fuel cells is developed. The Forchheimer's effect (Non-Darcy effect) is coupled in the model, and its impact on liquid water removing process in flow channels with baffles having different shapes is discussed. Simulation results show that the liquid water is able to be removed more at the regions around baffles. At the same time, the baffle shapes reform the liquid water distribution. When using the baffles having larger dimensions (e.g. using rectangular baffles or trapezoidal baffles), the flow spaces around baffles decrease more and the liquid water is removed more because of the increase in local flow velocity. As a result, the concentration polarization is weakened and cell performance is improved more. Moreover, a streamline baffled flow channel that is designed for the purpose of both increasing the cell performance and avoiding excessive increase in pressure drops is discussed. Simulation results show that this flow channel design can both avoid too much increase in pressure drop and facilitate the liquid water removing out from the fuel cell.     

Influence of oil on R-410A two-phase frictional pressure drop in a small U-type wavy tube

This study presents single-phase and two-phase pressure drop data with oil concentration C = 0, 1, 3 and 5% in a copper wavy tube having an inner diameter of 3.25 mm and a curvature radius of 6.35 mm. The ratio of frictional factor between U-bend in wavy tube and straight tube (f_C/f_S) is about 1.5 to 2.5 for Re = 2500 ∼ 25000. The effect of secondary flow is very crucial in the U-bend that it increases the pressure drop considerably. However, the effect of oil concentration on friction factor is negligible provided the properties are based on mixture. The ratio between two-phase pressure gradients of U-bend and straight tube is about 3. This ratio is increased with oil concentration and vapor quality. The oil effect on two-phase pressure drop is especially pronounced at high vapor quality because the effective oil concentration in liquid mixture is increased with vapor quality. The frictional two-phase multiplier for straight tube can be fairly correlated by using the Chisholm correlation. A modified two-phase friction factor based on the Geary correlation is also utilized to predict the frictional two-phase pressure gradient in U-bend. The predictions give a good agreement to the present oil–refrigerant data with a mean deviation of 12.92%.     

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.     

Numerical investigation of liquid water distribution in the cathode side of proton exchange membrane fuel cell and its effects on cell performance

A three-dimensional unsteady two-phase model for the cathode side of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) consisting of gas diffusion layer (GDL) with hybrid structural model is developed to investigate liquid water behaviors under different operating and geometrical conditions and to quantitatively evaluate effects of liquid water distribution on reactant transport and current density distribution. Simulation results reveal that liquid water transport processes and distributions are significantly affected by inlet air velocity, wall wettability and water inlet position, which in turn play a prominent role on local reactant transport and cause considerable disturbances of the current density. Liquid water film spreading on the gas channel (GC) top wall is identified as the most desirable flow pattern in the GC based on overall evaluations of current density magnitude, uniformity of current density distribution and pressure drop in the GC. Modification to GDL structure is proposed to promote the formation of the desirable flow pattern.     

Experimental validation of two-phase pressure drop multiplier as a diagnostic tool for characterizing PEM fuel cell performance

Water management is a key area of interest in improving the performance of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells. Cell flooding and membrane dehydration are two extreme conditions arising from poor water management. Pressure drop has been recognized as a good diagnostic tool to determine the presence of liquid water in the reactant channels. Presence of liquid water in the channels increases the mass transport resistances and therefore reduces the cell performance, which is quantified by the cell voltage at a set current density. Since the two-phase pressure drop multiplier is uniquely related to the water content in the channel, it serves as a good diagnostic tool for directly predicting the cell performance. Experiments are carried out to establish the relationship between the pressure drop multiplier and cell voltage at different operating conditions. Cell temperature was varied from 30 °C to 80 °C and the inlet RH was varied from 0 to 95%. At the lower temperatures, a two-phase multiplier below 1.5 reduces flooding in the flow field. However, at the higher temperatures, a two-phase flow multiplier above 1.2 is preferred as it indicates the membrane remains hydrated for improved performance from the cell. The two-phase pressure drop multiplier has been successfully demonstrated as a diagnostic tool to predict cell flooding and membrane dehydration.     

Experimental and numerical study on the flow characteristics in curved rectangular microchannels

In this paper, the flow characteristics in curved rectangular microchannels with different aspect ratios and curvature ratios for Re numbers ranging from 80 to 876 are investigated. The obtained experimental results are compared with simulated values based on classical Navier–Stokes equations and available correlation in the literature. An empirical equation based on experimental data is proposed to provide a better prediction of the frictional pressure drop in the curved rectangular microchannels.     

Effect of Void Fraction and Two-Phase Dynamic Viscosity Models on Prediction of Hydrostatic and Frictional Pressure Drop in Vertical Upward Gas–Liquid Two-Phase Flow

In gas–liquid two-phase flow, the prediction of two-phase density and hence the hydrostatic pressure drop relies on the void fraction and is sensitive to the error in prediction of void fraction. The objectives of this study are to analyze dependence of two-phase density on void fraction and to examine slip ratio and drift flux model-based correlations for their performance in prediction of void fraction and two-phase densities for the two extremes of two-phase flow conditions, that is, bubbly and annular flow or, alternatively, the low and high region of the void fraction. It is shown that the drift flux model-based correlations perform better than the slip ratio model-based correlations in prediction of void fraction and hence the two-phase mixture density. Another objective of this study is to verify performance of different two-phase dynamic viscosity models in prediction of two-phase frictional pressure drop. Fourteen two-phase dynamic viscosity models are assessed for their performance against 616 data points consisting of 10 different pipe diameters in annular flow regime. It is found that none of these two-phase dynamic viscosity models are able to predict the frictional pressure drop in annular flow regime for a range of pipe diameters. The correlations that are successful for small pipe diameters fail for large pipe diameters and vice versa.     

Measurement and correlation of frictional two-phase pressure drop of R410A/POE oil mixture flow boiling in a 7 mm straight micro-fin tube

Two-phase frictional pressure drop characteristics of R410A/POE oil mixture flow boiling inside a straight micro-fin tube with the outside diameter of 7.0 mm were investigated experimentally. Experimental parameters include the evaporation temperature of 5 °C, the mass flux from 200 to 400 kg/(m² s), the heat flux from 7.56 to 15.12 kW/m², the inlet vapor quality from 0.2 to 0.7, and nominal oil concentration from 0% to 5%. The test results show that frictional pressure drop of R410A/POE oil mixture increases with the mass flux, the presence of oil enhances two-phase frictional pressure drop, and the effect of oil on frictional pressure drop is more evident at higher vapor qualities where the local oil concentrations are higher. New correlations to predict the local frictional pressure drop of R410A/POE oil mixture flow boiling inside the straight micro-fin tube are developed based on local properties of refrigerant–oil mixture, and the measured local frictional pressure drop is well correlated with the empirical correlations proposed by the authors.     

The effect on pressure drop across horizontal pipe and control valve for air/palm oil two-phase flow

Studies on operating characteristics of control valves with two-phase flow have not been given much attention in the literature despite its industrial importance during design and selection as well as during plant operation. However, literature shows considerable work with two-phase flow through pipes and different geometrical shapes of flow ducts. The present work attempts to study experimentally the effect of two-phase flow on pressure drop across the control valve for different volume fractions of the fluids. A typical fluid system of palm oil (liquid phase) and air (gas phase) has been used for the studies. The pressure drop in a horizontal straight pipe upstream of the valve is also considered to test the correlations from the literature on two-phase pressure drop. The same is extended to represent the pressure drop across the valve. The operating characteristics are obtained from the pressure drop relationship and valve opening. It is found that Lockhart-Martini (L-M) parameter and the quality (fraction of liquid) are found to correlate well with the two-phase multiplier defined based on pressure drop with gas phase. The installed characteristics of the valve for varying pressure drop and quality is presented.     

Experimental shell-side heat transfer and pressure drop in gas flow for spiral-wound LNG heat exchanger

A test plant has been constructed for measurements of local heat-transfer coefficients and frictional pressure drops on the shell side of spiral-wound LNG heat exchangers. Measurements have been performed with gas flow, liquid film flow and two-phase shear flow. This paper focuses on the measurements and the results from the gas flow measurements. 221 gas flow heat-transfer measurements and 80 gas flow frictional pressure drop measurements have been performed at a Re-number range of 5000-170 000 with nitrogen, methane, ethane and methane/ethane mixture as test fluids.