Simulation-based optimization of patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC

Dujc, Jaka; Forner-Cuenca, Antoni; Cochet, Magali; Schumacher, Jürgen; Boillat, Pierre

Publication type:	Conference poster
Type of review:	Not specified
Title:	Simulation-based optimization of patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC
Authors:	Dujc, Jaka Forner-Cuenca, Antoni Cochet, Magali Schumacher, Jürgen Boillat, Pierre
Conference details:	13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016
Issue Date:	Mar-2016
Language:	English
Subjects:	Fuel cell; PEFC; Water management
Subject (DDC):	621.3: Electrical, communications, control engineering
Abstract:	In proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEFC) water is produced by the cathode oxygen reduction reaction. The presence of liquid water in PEFC has both positive and negative effects. On one hand water is beneficial since high water content in the membrane increases proton conductivity and overall fuel cell efficiency and evaporation of water cools down the fuel cell. On the other hand the liquid water accumulates in the porous gas diffusion layers (GDL) and thus limits the transport of oxygen. Aim of our work is to design new GDLs capable of better removing water from the electrodes towards the flowfield in order to guarantee access for the gases to the electrodes in wet conditions. The new GDL design, developed at PSI, is a succession of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. This design is first characterized experimentally by measuring the local saturation as a function of the capillary pressure applied. Neutron radiography was used as imaging technique, allowing for quantification of the water thickness. In a second step, the focal point of the present contribution, a macrohomogenous computer simulation using the Van Genuchten two phase flow model is built and compared with the experimental measurements. The computer model will be used to study the influence of different pattern designs on the GDL performance. The goal of our study is to find the optimal pattern design for the new GDLs.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/11680
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	School of Engineering
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Computational Physics (ICP)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Engineering

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Dujc, J., Forner-Cuenca, A., Cochet, M., Schumacher, J., & Boillat, P. (2016, March). Simulation-based optimization of patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC. 13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016.

Dujc, J. et al. (2016) ‘Simulation-based optimization of patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC’, in 13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016.

J. Dujc, A. Forner-Cuenca, M. Cochet, J. Schumacher, and P. Boillat, “Simulation-based optimization of patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC,” in 13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016, Mar. 2016.

DUJC, Jaka, Antoni FORNER-CUENCA, Magali COCHET, Jürgen SCHUMACHER und Pierre BOILLAT, 2016. Simulation-based optimization of patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC. In: 13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016. Conference poster. März 2016

Dujc, Jaka, Antoni Forner-Cuenca, Magali Cochet, Jürgen Schumacher, and Pierre Boillat. 2016. “Simulation-Based Optimization of Patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC.” Conference poster. In 13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016.

Dujc, Jaka, et al. “Simulation-Based Optimization of Patterned GDL for Water Management in PEFC.” 13th Symposium on Fuel Cell and Battery Modelling and Experimental Validation (ModVal 13) , Lausanne, 22-23 March 2016, 2016.