Stochastic 3D Carbon Cloth GDL Reconstruction and Transport Prediction

Yuan Gao,Teng Jin,Xiaoyan Wu

doi:10.3390/en13030572

Abstract

This paper presents the 3D carbon cloth gas diffusion layer (GDL) to predict transport behaviors of anisotropic structure properties. A statistical characterization and stochastic reconstruction method is established to construct the 3D micro-structure using the data from the true materials. Statistics of the many microstructure characteristics, such as porosity, pore size distribution, and shape of the void, are all quantified by image-based characterization. Furthermore, the stochastic reconstruction algorithm is proposed to generate random and anisotropic 3D microstructure models. The proposed method is demonstrated by some classical simulation prediction and to give the evaluation of the transport properties. Various reconstructed GDLs are also generated to demonstrate the capability of the proposed method. In the end, the adapted structure properties are offered to optimize the carbon cloth GDLs.

Highlights

Among different types of fuel cells, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has become one of the most promising clean energy technologies in the 21st century
gas diffusion layer (GDL) is a porous layer composed of randomly oriented carbon fibers that are either woven or no-woven
Taking tortuosity and permeability as examples, in this paper we studied how the value of tortuosity and permeability of different carbon cloth models change with different porosity and fiber radius

Summary

Introduction

Among different types of fuel cells, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has become one of the most promising clean energy technologies in the 21st century. Due to its long working life, strong temperature adaptability, fast starting speed, simple operation, and convenient installation, PEMFC can be widely used in important fields such as transportation, military, aerospace and communication. As a vital part in PEMFC, the gas diffusion layer (GDL) serves as a support in membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and plays a central role in mass transport [2]. GDL is a porous layer composed of randomly oriented carbon fibers that are either woven (carbon cloth) or no-woven (carbon paper). Carbon paper shapes like cardboard and carbon cloth is similar to the style of woven fabric [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion