Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 238550 |
| Journal | Journal of power sources |
| Volume | 660 |
| Early online date | 4 Oct 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - 30 Dec 2025 |
Abstract
The key to improving water management and fuel cell performance is to enhance the efficiency of mass transport and establish a fast and direct way to remove the product water from the gas diffusion layer (GDL). In this study, three baseline GDLs with uniform, gradient, and segmented porosity are investigated with computational methods. We utilised a stochastic reconstruction process to create three different GDLs (segmented, gradient, uniform), enabling analysis of the impact of their micro-structures on various surface properties, gas diffusion, electrical conductivity, and two-phase flow phenomena. The simulation results demonstrate that compared to the uniform GDL, the gradient and segmented GDL exhibit optimal surface properties which positively impacts the contact resistance between the GDL and the catalyst layer and enhances the in-plane transport characteristics. However, their water management and transport properties in the through-plane direction require further optimisation. Additionally, the impact of bipolar plates on the behaviour of liquid water near the channels and lands is also taken into account. To further improve the water removal and reactants supply efficiency, patterned through-holes along the through-plane direction inside the GDL are proposed. Our analysis suggests that the GDL, featuring a porosity gradient with through-holes positioned exclusively beneath the flow channel, exhibits the most balanced interfacial contact, mass transport characteristics and effective water management. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the design of GDLs to optimise the transport of gas, and electrons, as well as the liquid water distribution, thereby enhancing the performance and efficiency of fuel cell systems. It is important to note that the insights gained from this study are not limited to GDLs alone but can also be applied to various porous media, including porous transport layers.
Keywords
- Effective transport properties, Lattice Boltzmann method, Pore-scale model, Porosity gradient, Through-holes, Two-phase flow
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy(all)
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Energy(all)
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Chemistry(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Engineering(all)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Sustainable Development Goals
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Journal of power sources, Vol. 660, 238550, 30.12.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Balanced water management and mass transport with hierarchically structured gas diffusion layers in fuel cells
AU - Li, Min
AU - Liu, Jiang
AU - Nachtigal, Philipp
AU - Mimic, Dajan
AU - Schröder, Daniel
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
PY - 2025/12/30
Y1 - 2025/12/30
N2 - The key to improving water management and fuel cell performance is to enhance the efficiency of mass transport and establish a fast and direct way to remove the product water from the gas diffusion layer (GDL). In this study, three baseline GDLs with uniform, gradient, and segmented porosity are investigated with computational methods. We utilised a stochastic reconstruction process to create three different GDLs (segmented, gradient, uniform), enabling analysis of the impact of their micro-structures on various surface properties, gas diffusion, electrical conductivity, and two-phase flow phenomena. The simulation results demonstrate that compared to the uniform GDL, the gradient and segmented GDL exhibit optimal surface properties which positively impacts the contact resistance between the GDL and the catalyst layer and enhances the in-plane transport characteristics. However, their water management and transport properties in the through-plane direction require further optimisation. Additionally, the impact of bipolar plates on the behaviour of liquid water near the channels and lands is also taken into account. To further improve the water removal and reactants supply efficiency, patterned through-holes along the through-plane direction inside the GDL are proposed. Our analysis suggests that the GDL, featuring a porosity gradient with through-holes positioned exclusively beneath the flow channel, exhibits the most balanced interfacial contact, mass transport characteristics and effective water management. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the design of GDLs to optimise the transport of gas, and electrons, as well as the liquid water distribution, thereby enhancing the performance and efficiency of fuel cell systems. It is important to note that the insights gained from this study are not limited to GDLs alone but can also be applied to various porous media, including porous transport layers.
AB - The key to improving water management and fuel cell performance is to enhance the efficiency of mass transport and establish a fast and direct way to remove the product water from the gas diffusion layer (GDL). In this study, three baseline GDLs with uniform, gradient, and segmented porosity are investigated with computational methods. We utilised a stochastic reconstruction process to create three different GDLs (segmented, gradient, uniform), enabling analysis of the impact of their micro-structures on various surface properties, gas diffusion, electrical conductivity, and two-phase flow phenomena. The simulation results demonstrate that compared to the uniform GDL, the gradient and segmented GDL exhibit optimal surface properties which positively impacts the contact resistance between the GDL and the catalyst layer and enhances the in-plane transport characteristics. However, their water management and transport properties in the through-plane direction require further optimisation. Additionally, the impact of bipolar plates on the behaviour of liquid water near the channels and lands is also taken into account. To further improve the water removal and reactants supply efficiency, patterned through-holes along the through-plane direction inside the GDL are proposed. Our analysis suggests that the GDL, featuring a porosity gradient with through-holes positioned exclusively beneath the flow channel, exhibits the most balanced interfacial contact, mass transport characteristics and effective water management. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the design of GDLs to optimise the transport of gas, and electrons, as well as the liquid water distribution, thereby enhancing the performance and efficiency of fuel cell systems. It is important to note that the insights gained from this study are not limited to GDLs alone but can also be applied to various porous media, including porous transport layers.
KW - Effective transport properties
KW - Lattice Boltzmann method
KW - Pore-scale model
KW - Porosity gradient
KW - Through-holes
KW - Two-phase flow
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105018118647&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.238550
DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.238550
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105018118647
VL - 660
JO - Journal of power sources
JF - Journal of power sources
SN - 0378-7753
M1 - 238550
ER -