LAPSE:2019.1147
Published Article
LAPSE:2019.1147
Pore Network Simulation of Gas-Liquid Distribution in Porous Transport Layers
Nicole Vorhauer, Haashir Altaf, Evangelos Tsotsas, Tanja Vidakovic-Koch
November 24, 2019
Pore network models are powerful tools to simulate invasion and transport processes in porous media. They are widely applied in the field of geology and the drying of porous media, and have recently also received attention in fuel cell applications. Here we want to describe and discuss how pore network models can be used as a prescriptive tool for future water electrolysis technologies. In detail, we suggest in a first approach a pore network model of drainage for the prediction of the oxygen and water invasion process inside the anodic porous transport layer at high current densities. We neglect wetting liquid films and show that, in this situation, numerous isolated liquid clusters develop when oxygen invades the pore network. In the simulation with narrow pore size distribution, the volumetric ratio of the liquid transporting clusters connected between the catalyst layer and the water supply channel is only around 3% of the total liquid volume contained inside the pore network at the moment when the water supply route through the pore network is interrupted; whereas around 40% of the volume is occupied by the continuous gas phase. The majority of liquid clusters are disconnected from the water supply routes through the pore network if liquid films along the walls of the porous transport layer are disregarded. Moreover, these clusters hinder the countercurrent oxygen transport. A higher ratio of liquid transporting clusters was obtained for greater pore size distribution. Based on the results of pore network drainage simulations, we sketch a new route for the extraction of transport parameters from Monte Carlo simulations, incorporating pore scale flow computations and Darcy flow.
Keywords
clustering effect, drainage invasion, Monte Carlo simulation, pore network model, porous transport layer, water electrolysis
Suggested Citation
Vorhauer N, Altaf H, Tsotsas E, Vidakovic-Koch T. Pore Network Simulation of Gas-Liquid Distribution in Porous Transport Layers. (2019). LAPSE:2019.1147
Author Affiliations
Vorhauer N: Institute of Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany [ORCID]
Altaf H: Institute of Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Tsotsas E: Institute of Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Vidakovic-Koch T: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
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Journal Name
Processes
Volume
7
Issue
9
Article Number
E558
Year
2019
Publication Date
2019-08-23
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
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Original Submission
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PII: pr7090558, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2019.1147
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doi:10.3390/pr7090558
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Nov 24, 2019
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CC BY 4.0
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Nov 24, 2019
 
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Nov 24, 2019
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Calvin Tsay
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