Coupling between finite volume method and lattice Boltzmann method and its application to fluid flow and mass transport in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

In this paper, a concentration distribution function reconstruction operator is derived to lift macroscopic parameter concentration to concentration distribution function in lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Combined with a density–velocity distribution function reconstruction operator previously derived by the author’s group, the coupled finite volume method and LBM scheme (CFVLBM), previously proposed by the authors’ group is extended to simulate both fluid flow and mass transport processes. The accuracy of concentration distribution function reconstruction operator and the feasibility of CFVLBM are validated by two numerical examples, diffusion–convection–reaction problem and natural convection in a square cavity induced by concentration gradient. Finally, the CFVLBM is further adopted to simulate fluid flow and mass transport in the gas channel (GC) and gas diffusion layer (GDL) of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). It is found that the CFVLBM can capture the pore-scale information of fluid flow and species transport in porous GDL and can save the computational resources.