Abstract
By analyzing the three-dimensional digital model of a real carbon paper gas diffusion layer (GDL) reconstructed by X-ray computed tomography (CT), it was found that fibers are not distributed at any angle but within a certain range. The fiber orientation can be represented by fiber pitch (i.e., the angle between a single fiber and the in-plane direction). The effect of fiber orientation on stochastic reconstruction and transport properties (permeability) was investigated in this paper to find which fiber pitch range can achieve a better GDL on fluid flow. First, the actual fiber pitch was measured by analyzing SGL-24BA images obtained by X-ray CT. Also, seven different ranges of fiber pitch were randomly chosen to reconstruct GDL. Then, the permeability of these digital models was calculated using the Lattice Bolzmann Method (LBM) and discussed to obtain the fiber pitch range of the optimal permeability. The results show that the mean fiber pitch of SGL-24BA is 2.40° and the individual values are all less than 6°, also, the permeability of the through-plane direction increases gradually as the range of fiber pitch increases, which can be used for the structural design of carbon paper GDL.
Highlights
With the growing shortage of energy and increasing environmental pollution, countries around the world are paying more and more attention to new energy technologies
Fuel cells are widely used as energy conversion devices with high energy density, high-energy conversion efficiency and low environmental pollution
The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has the advantages of a low operating temperature, fast starting speed, long service life, modular installation and convenient operation, it is considered as one of the most promising alternative power sources for electric vehicles, mobile devices and decentralized power stations. This new, efficient and clean power generation system can be used in transportation, military, communications and other fields
Summary
With the growing shortage of energy and increasing environmental pollution, countries around the world are paying more and more attention to new energy technologies. Fuel cells are widely used as energy conversion devices with high energy density, high-energy conversion efficiency and low environmental pollution. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has the advantages of a low operating temperature, fast starting speed, long service life, modular installation and convenient operation, it is considered as one of the most promising alternative power sources for electric vehicles, mobile devices and decentralized power stations. This new, efficient and clean power generation system can be used in transportation, military, communications and other fields. More and more scholars have begun to investigate these problems
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