Numerical study of droplet dynamics in a PEMFC gas channel with multiple pores

The water droplet motion in a PEMFC gas channel with multiple pores, through which water emerges, is studied numerically by solving the equations governing the conservation of mass and momentum. The liquid-gas interface is tracked by a level set method which is based on a sharp-interface representation for accurately imposing the matching conditions at the interface. The method is modified to implement the contact angle conditions on the walls and pores. The dynamic interaction between the droplets growing on multiple pores is investigated by conducting the computations until the droplet growth and sliding motion exhibits a periodic pattern. The numerical results show that the configuration subject to droplet merging is not effective for water removal and that the wettability of channel wall strongly affects water management in the PEMFC gas channel. This paper was presented at the 7th JSME-KSME Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference, Sapporo, Japan, October 2008. Gihun Son received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University in 1986 and 1988, respectively, and Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 1996. Dr. Son is currently a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea. His research interests are in the area of multiphase dynamics, heat transfer, and power system simulation. Jiyoung Choi received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sogang University in 2005. He is a graduate student of Mechanical Engineering at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea. Choi’s research interests are in the area of PEM fuel cell and microfluidics.