Ding, Ziheng;
Li, Ruixin;
Luo, Kai H;
(2025)
LBM studies on oxygen bubble transport in porous transport layers and flow channel of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers.
Journal of Power Sources
, 642
, Article 236959. 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.236959.
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Abstract
The transport and management of oxygen bubbles significantly impact the performance of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE). The 3D structures of sintered and fibrous porous transport layers (PTLs) were reconstructed using randomly distributed spherical particles and layer-by-layer generated cylindrical fibers, respectively. The two-phase flow dynamic behavior of oxygen in the PTL and flow channel with lateral velocity were simulated based on the lattice Boltzmann method with a free surface model. At the bottom of the computational domain, spherical bubbles were added at random positions at specified intervals, corresponding to different current densities. The effects of bubble generation time interval, contact angle, initial flow velocity, graded porosity and microporous layer structure are investigated. The similarities and differences between spherical and fibrous PTLs are analyzed in detail. The results demonstrate the feasibility and necessity of operating PEMWEs at high current densities. Hydrophilic PTLs facilitate the upward movement of oxygen bubbles, with an optimal contact angle range observed. Maximizing the flow channel velocity within laminar conditions promotes the lateral expulsion of bubbles. Compared to spherical PTLs, fibrous PTLs are more suitable for high current density operations. Reducing the porosity or decreasing the fiber diameter near the catalyst layer side can effectively minimize bubble accumulation.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | LBM studies on oxygen bubble transport in porous transport layers and flow channel of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.236959 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.236959 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Proton exchange water membrane electrolyzer, Porous transport layer, Lattice Boltzmann method simulation, Bubble transport |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10210154 |
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