Pore-Scale Transport and Two-Phase Fluid Structures in Fibrous Porous Layers: Application to Fuel Cells and Beyond
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2021

We present pore-scale simulations of two-phase flows in a reconstructed fibrous porous layer. The three-dimensional microstructure of the material, a fuel cell gas diffusion layer, is acquired via X-ray computed tomography and used as input for lattice Boltzmann simulations. We perform a quantitative analysis of the multiphase pore-scale dynamics, and we identify the dominant fluid structures governing mass transport. The results show the existence of three different regimes of transport: a fast inertial dynamics at short times, characterised by a compact uniform front, a viscous-capillary regime at intermediate times, where liquid is transported along a gradually increasing number of preferential flow paths of the size of one–two pores, and a third regime at longer times, where liquid, after having reached the outlet, is exclusively flowing along such flow paths and the two-phase fluid structures are stabilised. We observe that the fibrous layer presents significant variations in its microscopic morphology, which have an important effect on the pore invasion dynamics, and counteract the stabilising viscous force. Liquid transport is indeed affected by the presence of microstructure-induced capillary pressures acting adversely to the flow, leading to capillary fingering transport mechanism and unstable front displacement, even in the absence of hydrophobic treatments of the porous material. We propose a macroscopic model based on an effective contact angle that mimics the effects of the such a dynamic capillary pressure. Finally, we underline the significance of the results for the optimal design of face masks in an effort to mitigate the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Författare

Meisam Farzaneh Kaloorazi

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Strömningslära

Henrik Ström

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Strömningslära

Filippo Zanini

Università di Padova

Simone Carmignato

Università di Padova

Srdjan Sasic

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Strömningslära

Dario Maggiolo

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Strömningslära

Transport in Porous Media

0169-3913 (ISSN) 1573-1634 (eISSN)

Vol. 136 1 245-270

HYPOSTRUCT: A key breakthrough in hydrogen fuel cells: enhancing macroscopic mass transport properties by tailoring the porous microstructure

Europeiska kommissionen (EU) (EC/H2020/790744), 2019-01-09 -- 2021-01-08.

Vattenhantering i Anion Exchange Membrane Bränsleceller

Chalmers (30424801), 2019-07-01 -- 2021-07-01.

Ämneskategorier

Geofysisk teknik

Byggproduktion

Styrkeområden

Transport

Fundament

Grundläggande vetenskaper

Infrastruktur

C3SE (Chalmers Centre for Computational Science and Engineering)

DOI

10.1007/s11242-020-01509-7

PubMed

33250547

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2022-08-15