Enhanced water removal in a fuel cell stack by droplet atomization using structural and acoustic excitation

This work examines new methods for enhancing product water removal in fuel cell stacks. Vibration and acoustic based methods are proposed to atomize condensed water droplets in the channels of a bipolar plate or on a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The vibration levels required to atomize water droplets of different sizes are first examined using two different approaches: (1) exciting the droplet at the same energy level required to form that droplet; and (2) by using a method called ‘vibration induced droplet atomization’, or VIDA. It is shown analytically that a 2 mm radius droplet resting on a bipolar-like plate can be atomized by inducing acceleration levels as low as 250 g at a certain frequency. By modeling the direct structural excitation of a simplified bipolar plate using a realistic source, the response levels that can be achieved are then compared with those required levels. Furthermore, a two-cell fuel cell finite element model and a boundary element model of the MEA were developed to demonstrate that the acceleration levels required for droplet atomization may be achieved in both the bipolar plate as well as the MEA through proper choice of excitation frequency and source strength.