Min Li, M.Sc.

• Water management of fuel cells
• Numerical reconstruction of Gas Diffusion Layer

Research Projects

Water management of fuel cells for aviation

One major technological issue of the PEM fuel cell is the proper water management to avoid water flooding phenomena and starvation. The cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface should be free of liquid water to provide sufficient amounts of oxygen. Water removal in the gas channel (GC) is especially important in automotive applications of PEM fuel cells due to the frequent demand for high current density. The aim of the study is:

1. To characterize water transport mechanism inside of GDL, and optimize the structure of GDL in mesoscopic level to improve the water removal.
2. To study the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet of the GC, to characterize the two-phase flow pattern and the efficacy of water management.
3. To study turbulent flow and liquid water behavior in inlet and outlet headers of fuel cell stack, reducing the impact of single cell flooding on the stack.