Finite element-based analysis of composite serpentine flow channel 3D modeling of vanadium redox flow battery

Abstract

ABSTRACT The flow channel design significantly affects the operating performance of the vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). Serpentine flow channels enable uniform distribution of electrolyte concentration, which are widely used in flow channel design. However, this design leads to high electrolyte pressure drop and increased pump losses, thus reducing operating efficiency. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel composite serpentine channel design. The flow channel can significantly reduce the problem of excessively high electrolyte pressure drop inside the cell. In this paper, based on conservation laws of momentum, mass, charge and reaction kinetics, a three-dimensional model of a composite serpentine flow channel vanadium redox flow battery is developed to analyze the electrolyte behavior the COMSOL Multiphysics platform. The simulation results show that the pressure drop of the composite serpentine flow channel is largely reduced compared with that of the serpentine flow channel. The novel design can effectively reduce the pressure drop, and thus reduce the pump loss, which provides a guidance for VRB flow channel design.