Experimental Investigation of Water Level Control System of Liquid-Gas Separator in the Fuel Cell

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Babol (Noshirvani) University of Technology

2 Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

3 Fuel Cell Technology Research Laboratory, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Fereydounkenar, Iran.

4 Malek Ashtar University of Technology

Abstract

Water is the product of the interaction between reactants in the fuel cell. The purpose of this study is to introduce a water level control system that prevents the loss of reactant gases by improving the process of water separation from these gases. In this paper, due to fuel cell characteristics and construction constraints, the performance of a venturi-based flow control system is quantified. Effective parameters for controlling the discharge valve, such as the length of the connection path, the angle of the sensor, the time lags, have been investigated. The path length check showed that if the path length being too high, the pressure changes oscillate, failing to establish a pressure condition for the minimum critical time, and the system loses its performance. Finally, in order to control the water level control system automatically, relations are proposed based on the pressure. The performance of the fuel cell has been investigated at 0.4 to 2 bar and the system is efficient in this range. The sensor angle only affects the maximum critical time, somehow reaches its maximum by placing the sensor at the 90-degree angle. In addition, according to the tests performed, the time between 0.3 and 0.5 seconds is recommended forthe minimum critical time.

Keywords

Main Subjects


[1] A. Vasquez, K.L. McCurdy, K.F. Bradley, Water outlet control mechanism for fuel cell system operation in variable gravity environments, in, Google Patents, 2007.
[2] P. Charlat, Gas/liquid phase separator and the fuel cell-based power production unit equipped with one such separator, in, Google Patents, 2006.
[3] W. Bette, D. Coerlin, W. Stuhler, Fuel Cell System and Method for Operating a Fuel Cell System, in, Google Patents, 2008.
[4] J. Zhu, H. Xie, K. Feng, X. Zhang, M. Si, Unsteady cavitation characteristics of liquid nitrogen flows through venturi tube, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 112 (2017) 544-552.
[5] C. Wang, G. Wang, H. Ding, Thermal effect on body temperature distribution of the critical flow Venturi nozzle, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 79 (2016) 187-194.
[6] A. Niedźwiedzka, W. Sobieski, Analytical Analysis of cavitating flow in venturi tube on the basis of experimental data, Technical Sciences/University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn,  (2016).
[7] J.L.G. Oliveira, J.C. Passos, R. Verschaeren, C. Van Der Geld, Mass flow rate measurements in gas–liquid flows by means of a venturi or orifice plate coupled to a void fraction sensor, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 33(2) (2009) 253-260.
[8] Z. Meng, Z. Huang, B. Wang, H. Ji, H. Li, Y. Yan, Air–water two-phase flow measurement using a Venturi meter and an electrical resistance tomography sensor, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 21(3) (2010) 268-276.
[9] H. Lu, X. Guo, P. Li, K. Liu, X. Gong, Design optimization of a venturi tube geometry in dense-phase pneumatic conveying of pulverized coal for entrained-flow gasification, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 120 (2017) 208-217.
[10] H. Ghassemi, H.F. Fasih, Application of small size cavitating venturi as flow controller and flow meter, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 22(5) (2011) 406-412.
[11] H. Tian, P. Zeng, N. Yu, G. Cai, Application of variable area cavitating venturi as a dynamic flow controller, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 38 (2014) 21-26.
[12] P.J. Titheradge, R. Robergs, Venturi tube calibration for airflow and volume measurement, Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 60 (2018) 200-207.
[13] E. Von Lavante, A. Zachcial, B. Nath, H. Dietrich, Numerical and experimental investigation of unsteady effects in critical venturi nozzles, Flow measurement and instrumentation, 11(4) (2000) 257-264.
[14] X. Long, J. Zhang, J. Wang, M. Xu, Q. Lyu, B. Ji, Experimental investigation of the global cavitation dynamic behavior in a venturi tube with special emphasis on the cavity length variation, International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 89 (2017) 290-298.
[15] D. He, B. Bai, A new correlation for wet gas flow rate measurement with Venturi meter based on two-phase mass flow coefficient, Measurement, 58 (2014) 61-67.
[16] A.H. Hasan, G. Lucas, Experimental and theoretical study of the gas–water two phase flow through a conductance multiphase Venturi meter in vertical annular (wet gas) flow, Nuclear Engineering and Design, 241(6) (2011) 1998-2005.
[17] D. Illner, I. Mehltretter, O. Voitlein, Method for monitoring the discharge of media out of fuel cell, and a fuel cell system, in, Google Patents, 2008.