Imaging of the desaturation of gas diffusion layers by synchrotron computed tomography

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

卷:416

Article

Battrell, Logan¹  Patel, Virat²  Zhu, Ning^2,3  Zhang, Lifeng²  Anderson, Ryan¹ 

[1] Montana State Univ, Dept Chem & Biol Engn, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA

[2] Univ Saskatchewan, Dept Chem & Biol Engn, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

[3] Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK S7N 2V3, Canada

关键词: Gas diffusion layer;    Saturation;    X-ray radiography;    4-D imaging;    PEM fuel cell;    Water management;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.01.089

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The 4-D imaging and quantification of the desaturation of an initially flooded gas diffusion layer (GDL) with a serpentine gas flow channel by synchrotron radiography is presented. An imaging area with a diameter of 10 mm allows for the study of how the natural anisotropy of a GDL affects the desaturation profile. The GDL is progressively spatially segmented from the overall domain down to sections of the individual channels and ribs. Temporal saturation profiles and desaturation rates are presented for each step of this progressive segmentation. Although the desaturation of the overall domain initially appears to be a constant and steady process with a desaturation rate of 0.0030 mu L cm(-2) s(-1), segmented results display heterogeneous behavior with over two-fold differences between areas of the flow field. Segmented saturation surface plots are presented that spatially show how this heterogeneity occurs within the entire domain. Results indicate that initial conditions, anisotropic material properties, and flow field geometry all play a key role in determining local desaturation behavior. The larger domain considered here provides valuable data for future modeling studies that combine continuum studies of flow in the gas flow channels with GDL pore network models that consider two-phase flow behavior.

【 授权许可】

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