Elucidating Multi-phase Transport in Porous Media
Lee, J.K. and Bazylak, A. (2020) Optimizing porous transport layer design parameters via stochastic pore network modelling: Reactant transport and interfacial contact considerations. Journal of Electrochemical Society. Focus Issue: Mathematical Modeling of Electrochemical Systems at Multiple Scales in Honor of Richard Alkire, 167, 013541.
Pore network modelling is a promising technique for characterizing multi-phase transport in porous media. Complex high-order governing equations are simplified into linear governing equations when we represent flow in porous media as flow in pores connected by throats. In this work, we used pore network modelling to design optimal porous transport layers for PEM electrolysis.
Lee, J.K. and Bazylak, A. (2019) Stochastic modelling for controlling the structure of sintered titanium powder-based porous transport layers for polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers. Journal of Electrochemical Society, 166, F1000-F1006.
Titanium porous transport layers are one of the major contributors to the high CAPEX of PEM electrolyzers that hinder the further adoption of this technology. Moreover, the high sintering temperature and chemical affinity of titanium with atmospheric gases complicate the control of PTL porous structure. In this work, we developed a stochastic model granting fine control over PTL structures to be used for multi-phase simulations.
