Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography
Baffles in flow field channels for air in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell are known to enhance the performance by inducing convective flow through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) with smaller pressure loss than interdigitated flow fields. This work experimentally correlates performance enhancement wit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Power Sources Advances |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666248523000112 |
| _version_ | 1797800970442244096 |
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| author | Takahisa Suzuki Akihiko Kato Satoshi Yamaguchi Yasutaka Nagai Daisuke Hayashi Satoru Kato |
| author_facet | Takahisa Suzuki Akihiko Kato Satoshi Yamaguchi Yasutaka Nagai Daisuke Hayashi Satoru Kato |
| author_sort | Takahisa Suzuki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Baffles in flow field channels for air in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell are known to enhance the performance by inducing convective flow through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) with smaller pressure loss than interdigitated flow fields. This work experimentally correlates performance enhancement with the amount of liquid water in a GDL. A parallel flow field (PFF) that has different inlet and outlet opening sizes is applied to induce cross-flow in the GDL under the rib between adjacent air channels. Operando synchrotron X-ray radiography experiments are conducted to compare the amount of water in the GDL with that for a PFF having the same inlet and outlet sizes. The performance enhancement by application of different opening sizes increases with decreasing relative humidity and increasing air flow rate. A significant performance enhancement is observed when the amount of water in the GDL substrate under the rib becomes almost zero. No performance enhancement is observed under over-humidified conditions, although a decrease in the amount of water in the GDL is still observed, which suggests that the performance becomes insensitive to the difference in the liquid water saturation as the saturation increases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:43:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-50259f595cbf4b038af259ea920a62ab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-2485 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:43:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Power Sources Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-50259f595cbf4b038af259ea920a62ab2023-06-19T04:29:39ZengElsevierJournal of Power Sources Advances2666-24852023-06-0122100119Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiographyTakahisa Suzuki0Akihiko Kato1Satoshi Yamaguchi2Yasutaka Nagai3Daisuke Hayashi4Satoru Kato5Fuel Cell Research-Domain, Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1192, Japan; Corresponding author.Materials Analysis & Evaluation Research-Domain, Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1192, JapanMaterials Analysis & Evaluation Research-Domain, Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1192, JapanEmerging Electrification Technology Div., Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1192, JapanHydrogen System Products Development Div., Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota, Aichi, 471-8571, JapanMaterials Analysis & Evaluation Research-Domain, Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1192, JapanBaffles in flow field channels for air in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell are known to enhance the performance by inducing convective flow through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) with smaller pressure loss than interdigitated flow fields. This work experimentally correlates performance enhancement with the amount of liquid water in a GDL. A parallel flow field (PFF) that has different inlet and outlet opening sizes is applied to induce cross-flow in the GDL under the rib between adjacent air channels. Operando synchrotron X-ray radiography experiments are conducted to compare the amount of water in the GDL with that for a PFF having the same inlet and outlet sizes. The performance enhancement by application of different opening sizes increases with decreasing relative humidity and increasing air flow rate. A significant performance enhancement is observed when the amount of water in the GDL substrate under the rib becomes almost zero. No performance enhancement is observed under over-humidified conditions, although a decrease in the amount of water in the GDL is still observed, which suggests that the performance becomes insensitive to the difference in the liquid water saturation as the saturation increases.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666248523000112Polymer electrolyte fuel cellCross-flowGas channelDifferent opening sizesLiquid water saturationOperando X-ray radiography |
| spellingShingle | Takahisa Suzuki Akihiko Kato Satoshi Yamaguchi Yasutaka Nagai Daisuke Hayashi Satoru Kato Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography Journal of Power Sources Advances Polymer electrolyte fuel cell Cross-flow Gas channel Different opening sizes Liquid water saturation Operando X-ray radiography |
| title | Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography |
| title_full | Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography |
| title_fullStr | Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography |
| title_short | Measurement of liquid water distribution in GDL under cross-flow-inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron X-ray radiography |
| title_sort | measurement of liquid water distribution in gdl under cross flow inducing parallel flow field using operando synchrotron x ray radiography |
| topic | Polymer electrolyte fuel cell Cross-flow Gas channel Different opening sizes Liquid water saturation Operando X-ray radiography |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666248523000112 |
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