Abstract Water management is crucial to the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). In this work, a pore-scale model is developed based on lattice Boltzmann (LB) method for the simulation of multicomponent multiphase reactive transport in an operating PEMFC, with the aim to capture the water vapor generation, condensation, and subsequent transport in the entire porous cathode, including the catalyst layer, gas diffusion layer, and gas channel. The current LB model considers the effect of liquid/vapor condensation on the dynamic evolution of liquid water. The transportation of oxygen and dynamic water evolution is coupled by the electrochemical reactions occurring at the active site of the catalyst layer. Effects of the microstructure and wettability of gas diffusion layer, vapor generation rate, temperature distribution, and existence of the rib on the dynamic evolution of liquid water are elaborated. The insights provided in this work would facilitate the understanding of liquid water evolution in the PEMFC and reduce its water flooding issues.

中文翻译：

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质子交换膜燃料电池阴极液态水析出的二维孔尺度研究

摘要 水管理对质子交换膜燃料电池 (PEMFC) 的性能至关重要。在这项工作中，基于格子 Boltzmann (LB) 方法开发了一个孔隙尺度模型，用于模拟运行中的 PEMFC 中的多组分多相反应输运，旨在捕获整个过程中水蒸气的产生、冷凝和后续输运。多孔阴极，包括催化剂层、气体扩散层和气体通道。当前的 LB 模型考虑了液体/蒸汽冷凝对液态水动态演化的影响。氧的传输和动态析水通过发生在催化剂层活性位点的电化学反应耦合。气体扩散层的微观结构和润湿性、蒸汽发生率、温度分布、并阐述了液态水动态演化中肋的存在。这项工作中提供的见解将有助于了解 PEMFC 中液态水的演变并减少其水淹问题。