A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery
As global environmental problems are worsening, the efficiency of storage systems for renewable energy are gaining importance. The redox flow battery (RFB), a promising energy storage system (ESS), is a device that generates or stores electricity through reduction−oxidation reactions betwe...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/3/929 |
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| author | Jun-Yong Park Bo-Ra Kim Deok-Young Sohn Yun-Ho Choi Yong-Hee Lee |
| author_facet | Jun-Yong Park Bo-Ra Kim Deok-Young Sohn Yun-Ho Choi Yong-Hee Lee |
| author_sort | Jun-Yong Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As global environmental problems are worsening, the efficiency of storage systems for renewable energy are gaining importance. The redox flow battery (RFB), a promising energy storage system (ESS), is a device that generates or stores electricity through reduction−oxidation reactions between active materials constituting electrolytes. Herein, we proposed a flow frame design that reduces flow resistance in the flow path and causes uniform flow distribution in the electrode to develop an efficient redox flow battery. Through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental verification, we investigated the flow characteristics and flow uniformity inside the conventional redox flow battery cell. An analysis of the flow characteristics of the conventional flow frame revealed a non-uniform distribution of the flow discharged to the electrodes, owing to the complex (branched) flow path geometry of the inlet channel. To address this problem, we proposed a new flow frame design that removed and integrated bifurcations in the flow path. This new design significantly improved flow uniformity parameters, such as the symmetry coefficient (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>C</mi> <mrow> <mi>s</mi> <mi>y</mi> <mi>m</mi> </mrow> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>), variability range coefficient (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>R</mi> <mi>i</mi> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>), and maximum flow rate deviation (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mi>m</mi> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>). Ultimately, we decreased the pressure drop by 15.3% by reducing the number of flow path bifurcations and chevron repositioning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:53:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-69a303dc6dac4e4193b9161347c96d93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:53:47Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-69a303dc6dac4e4193b9161347c96d932022-12-22T01:51:57ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-01-0110392910.3390/app10030929app10030929A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow BatteryJun-Yong Park0Bo-Ra Kim1Deok-Young Sohn2Yun-Ho Choi3Yong-Hee Lee4Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, KoreaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, KoreaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, KoreaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, KoreaLotte Chemical Research institute, Daejeon 34110, KoreaAs global environmental problems are worsening, the efficiency of storage systems for renewable energy are gaining importance. The redox flow battery (RFB), a promising energy storage system (ESS), is a device that generates or stores electricity through reduction−oxidation reactions between active materials constituting electrolytes. Herein, we proposed a flow frame design that reduces flow resistance in the flow path and causes uniform flow distribution in the electrode to develop an efficient redox flow battery. Through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental verification, we investigated the flow characteristics and flow uniformity inside the conventional redox flow battery cell. An analysis of the flow characteristics of the conventional flow frame revealed a non-uniform distribution of the flow discharged to the electrodes, owing to the complex (branched) flow path geometry of the inlet channel. To address this problem, we proposed a new flow frame design that removed and integrated bifurcations in the flow path. This new design significantly improved flow uniformity parameters, such as the symmetry coefficient (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>C</mi> <mrow> <mi>s</mi> <mi>y</mi> <mi>m</mi> </mrow> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>), variability range coefficient (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>R</mi> <mi>i</mi> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>), and maximum flow rate deviation (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mi>m</mi> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>). Ultimately, we decreased the pressure drop by 15.3% by reducing the number of flow path bifurcations and chevron repositioning.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/3/929redox flow battery (rfb)flow frameflow characteristicsflow uniformitypressure dropcomputational fluid dynamics (cfd) |
| spellingShingle | Jun-Yong Park Bo-Ra Kim Deok-Young Sohn Yun-Ho Choi Yong-Hee Lee A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery Applied Sciences redox flow battery (rfb) flow frame flow characteristics flow uniformity pressure drop computational fluid dynamics (cfd) |
| title | A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery |
| title_full | A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery |
| title_fullStr | A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery |
| title_short | A Study on Flow Characteristics and Flow Uniformity for the Efficient Design of a Flow Frame in a Redox Flow Battery |
| title_sort | study on flow characteristics and flow uniformity for the efficient design of a flow frame in a redox flow battery |
| topic | redox flow battery (rfb) flow frame flow characteristics flow uniformity pressure drop computational fluid dynamics (cfd) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/3/929 |
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