Retracted: Water Transport in GDL Microstructures of Nonuniform Fiber Diameter Arrangement
This article has been corrected.
VIEW CORRECTIONPublication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 2
Abstract
In proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the gas diffusion layer (GDL) plays an important role in the transport of reactants, water, heat, and electrons. Microstructure manipulation of porous media via a nonuniform fiber diameter arrangement could potentially be used to improve water transport behavior in GDLs. A numerical modeling approach is used to simulate GDL microstructures with uniform and nonuniform fiber diameters. The reconstructed porous microstructures’ water saturation and porosity are compared. The simulations of three-dimensional (3D) two-phase flow volume of fluid (VOF) models were completed on the OpenFOAM platform using the finite volume method (FVM). Simulations demonstrate that by adopting a nonuniform microstructural fiber diameter design, both porosity and water transport behaviors can be altered. As a result of the nonuniform fibrous arrangement, the ability to improve GDL performance by controlling water transport and porosity is possible. The results indicate that by manipulating the GDL microstructure, additional water pathways can be created, resulting in slightly increased water saturation. We propose that water transport can be improved by microstructural manipulation of the GDL, specifically by optimizing the arrangement and position of nonuniform fibers.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFB0105505), the China–UK International Cooperation and Exchange Project (Newton Advanced Fellowship) jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51861130359) and the UK Royal Society (Grant No. NAF/R1/180146), and the National Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (China) for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 18JCJQJC46700).
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Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 2 • April 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 2, 2021
Accepted: Nov 24, 2021
Published online: Jan 28, 2022
Published in print: Apr 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jun 28, 2022
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