Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds
A low-pressure drop stack design with minimal shunt losses was explored for vanadium redox flow batteries, which, due to their low energy density, are used invariably in stationary applications. Three kilowatt-scale stacks, having cell sizes in the range of 400 to 1500 cm<sup>2</sup>, we...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Batteries |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/7/2/30 |
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| author | Ravendra Gundlapalli Sreenivas Jayanti |
| author_facet | Ravendra Gundlapalli Sreenivas Jayanti |
| author_sort | Ravendra Gundlapalli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A low-pressure drop stack design with minimal shunt losses was explored for vanadium redox flow batteries, which, due to their low energy density, are used invariably in stationary applications. Three kilowatt-scale stacks, having cell sizes in the range of 400 to 1500 cm<sup>2</sup>, were built with thick graphite plates grooved with serpentine flow fields and external split manifolds for electrolyte circulation, and they were tested over a range of current densities and flow rates. The results show that stacks of different cell sizes have different optimal flow rate conditions, but under their individual optimal flow conditions, all three cell sizes exhibit similar electrochemical performance including stack resistivity. Stacks having larger cell sizes can be operated at lower stoichiometric factors, resulting in lower parasitic pumping losses. Further, these can be operated at a fixed flow rate for power variations of ±25% without any significant changes in discharge capacity and efficiency; this is attributed to the use of serpentine flow fields, which ensure uniform distribution of the electrolyte over a range of flow rates and cell sizes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:40:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db44fb7f74b94297ad7230ac33e26a27 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-0105 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:40:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
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| series | Batteries |
| spelling | doaj.art-db44fb7f74b94297ad7230ac33e26a272023-11-21T18:33:04ZengMDPI AGBatteries2313-01052021-05-01723010.3390/batteries7020030Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split ManifoldsRavendra Gundlapalli0Sreenivas Jayanti1Department of Chemical Engineering and DST-Solar Energy Harnessing Center, IIT Madras, Chennai 60036, IndiaDepartment of Chemical Engineering and DST-Solar Energy Harnessing Center, IIT Madras, Chennai 60036, IndiaA low-pressure drop stack design with minimal shunt losses was explored for vanadium redox flow batteries, which, due to their low energy density, are used invariably in stationary applications. Three kilowatt-scale stacks, having cell sizes in the range of 400 to 1500 cm<sup>2</sup>, were built with thick graphite plates grooved with serpentine flow fields and external split manifolds for electrolyte circulation, and they were tested over a range of current densities and flow rates. The results show that stacks of different cell sizes have different optimal flow rate conditions, but under their individual optimal flow conditions, all three cell sizes exhibit similar electrochemical performance including stack resistivity. Stacks having larger cell sizes can be operated at lower stoichiometric factors, resulting in lower parasitic pumping losses. Further, these can be operated at a fixed flow rate for power variations of ±25% without any significant changes in discharge capacity and efficiency; this is attributed to the use of serpentine flow fields, which ensure uniform distribution of the electrolyte over a range of flow rates and cell sizes.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/7/2/30redox flow battery stackserpentine flow fieldcell sizeoperating flow ratedischarge capacitysystem efficiency |
| spellingShingle | Ravendra Gundlapalli Sreenivas Jayanti Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds Batteries redox flow battery stack serpentine flow field cell size operating flow rate discharge capacity system efficiency |
| title | Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds |
| title_full | Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds |
| title_short | Comparative Study of Kilowatt-Scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Stacks Designed with Serpentine Flow Fields and Split Manifolds |
| title_sort | comparative study of kilowatt scale vanadium redox flow battery stacks designed with serpentine flow fields and split manifolds |
| topic | redox flow battery stack serpentine flow field cell size operating flow rate discharge capacity system efficiency |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/7/2/30 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ravendragundlapalli comparativestudyofkilowattscalevanadiumredoxflowbatterystacksdesignedwithserpentineflowfieldsandsplitmanifolds AT sreenivasjayanti comparativestudyofkilowattscalevanadiumredoxflowbatterystacksdesignedwithserpentineflowfieldsandsplitmanifolds |