Two-Phase Flow In Microchannels: Morphology And Interface Phenomena

The existence and morphology, as well as the dynamics of micro-scale gas-liquid interfaces is investigated numerically and experimentally. These studies can be used to assess liquid management issues in microsystems such as PEMFC gas flow channels, and are meant to open new research perspectives in two-phase flow, particularly in film deposition on non-wetting surfaces. For example the critical plug volume data can be used to deliver desired length plugs, or to determine the plug formation frequency. The dynamics of gas-liquid interfaces, of interest for applications involving small passages (e.g. heat exchangers, phase separators and filtration systems), was investigated using high-speed microscopy - a method that also proved useful for the study of film deposition processes. The existence limit for a liquid plug forming in a mixed wetting channel is determined by numerical simulations using Surface Evolver. The plug model simulate actual conditions in the gas flow channels of PEM fuel cells, the wetting of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) side of the channel being different from the wetting of the bipolar plate walls. The minimum plug volume, denoted as critical volume is computed for a series of GDL and bipolar plate wetting properties. Critical volume data is meant to assist in the water management of PEMFC, when corroborated with experimental data. The effect of cross section geometry is assessed by computing the critical volume in square and trapezoidal channels. Droplet simulations show that water can be passively removed from the GDL surface towards the bipolar plate if we take advantage on differing wetting properties between the two surfaces, to possibly avoid the gas transport blockage through the GDL. High speed microscopy was employed in two-phase and film deposition experiments with water in round and square capillary tubes. Periodic interface destabilization was observed and the existence of compression waves in the gas phase is discussed by taking into consideration a naturally occurring convergent-divergent nozzle formed by the flowing liquid phase. The effect of channel geometry and wetting properties was investigated through two-phase water-air flow in square and round microchannels, having three static contact angles of 20, 80 and 105 degrees. Four different flow regimes are observed for a fixed flow rate, this being thought to be caused by the wetting behavior of liquid flowing in the corners as well as the liquid film stability. Film deposition experiments in wetting and non-wetting round microchannels show that a thicker film is deposited for wetting conditions departing from the ideal 0 degrees contact angle. A film thickness dependence with the contact angle theta as well as the Capillary number, in the form h_R ~ Ca^(2/3)/ cos(theta) is inferred from scaling arguments, for contact angles smaller than 36 degrees. Non-wetting film deposition experiments reveal that a film significantly thicker than the wetting Bretherton film is deposited. A hydraulic jump occurs if critical conditions are met, as given by a proposed nondimensional parameter similar to the Froude number. Film thickness correlations are also found by matching the measured and the proposed velocity derived in the shock theory. The surface wetting as well as the presence of the shock cause morphological changes in the Taylor bubble flow.

Long-Range Pollution Transport: Trans-Atlantic Mechanisms and Lagrangian Modeling Methods

Over the past several decades, it has become apparent that anthropogenic activities have resulted in the large-scale enhancement of the levels of many trace gases throughout the troposphere. More recently, attention has been given to the transport pathway taken by these emissions as they are dispersed throughout the atmosphere. The transport pathway determines the physical characteristics of emissions plumes and therefore plays an important role in the chemical transformations that can occur downwind of source regions. For example, the production of ozone (O3) is strongly dependent upon the transport its precursors undergo. O3 can initially be formed within air masses while still over polluted source regions. These polluted air masses can experience continued O3 production or O3 destruction downwind, depending on the air mass's chemical and transport characteristics. At present, however, there are a number of uncertainties in the relationships between transport and O3 production in the North Atlantic lower free troposphere. The first phase of the study presented here used measurements made at the Pico Mountain observatory and model simulations to determine transport pathways for US emissions to the observatory. The Pico Mountain observatory was established in the summer of 2001 in order to address the need to understand the relationships between transport and O3 production. Measurements from the observatory were analyzed in conjunction with model simulations from the Lagrangian particle dispersion model (LPDM), FLEX-PART, in order to determine the transport pathway for events observed at the Pico Mountain observatory during July 2003. A total of 16 events were observed, 4 of which were analyzed in detail. The transport time for these 16 events varied from 4.5 to 7 days, while the transport altitudes over the ocean ranged from 2-8 km, but were typically less than 3 km. In three of the case studies, eastward advection and transport in a weak warm conveyor belt (WCB) airflow was responsible for the export of North American emissions into the FT, while transport in the FT was governed by easterly winds driven by the Azores/Bermuda High (ABH) and transient northerly lows. In the fourth case study, North American emissions were lofted to 6-8 km in a WCB before being entrained in the same cyclone's dry airstream and transported down to the observatory. The results of this study show that the lower marine FT may provide an important transport environment where O3 production may continue, in contrast to transport in the marine boundary layer, where O3 destruction is believed to dominate. The second phase of the study presented here focused on improving the analysis methods that are available with LPDMs. While LPDMs are popular and useful for the analysis of atmospheric trace gas measurements, identifying the transport pathway of emissions from their source to a receptor (the Pico Mountain observatory in our case) using the standard gridded model output, particularly during complex meteorological scenarios can be difficult can be difficult or impossible. The transport study in phase 1 was limited to only 1 month out of more than 3 years of available data and included only 4 case studies out of the 16 events specifically due to this confounding factor. The second phase of this study addressed this difficulty by presenting a method to clearly and easily identify the pathway taken by only those emissions that arrive at a receptor at a particular time, by combining the standard gridded output from forward (i.e., concentrations) and backward (i.e., residence time) LPDM simulations, greatly simplifying similar analyses. The ability of the method to successfully determine the source-to-receptor pathway, restoring this Lagrangian information that is lost when the data are gridded, is proven by comparing the pathway determined from this method with the particle trajectories from both the forward and backward models. A sample analysis is also presented, demonstrating that this method is more accurate and easier to use than existing methods using standard LPDM products. Finally, we discuss potential future work that would be possible by combining the backward LPDM simulation with gridded data from other sources (e.g., chemical transport models) to obtain a Lagrangian sampling of the air that will eventually arrive at a receptor.

WATER TRANSPORT THROUGH POROUS MEDIA AND IN FLOW CHANNELS OF PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been known as a promising power source for different applications such as automotive, residential and stationary. During the operation of a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen is oxidized in anode and oxygen is reduced in the cathode to produce the intended power. Water and heat are inevitable byproducts of these reactions. The water produced in the cathode should be properly removed from inside the cell. Otherwise, it may block the path of reactants passing through the gas channels and/or gas diffusion layer (GDL). This deteriorates the performance of the cell and eventually can cease the operation of the cell. Water transport in PEM fuel cell has been the subject of this PhD study. Water transport on the surface of the GDL, through the gas flow channels, and through GDL has been studied in details. For water transport on the surface of the GDL, droplet detachment has been measured for different GDL conditions and for anode and cathode gas flow channels. Water transport through gas flow channels has been investigated by measuring the two-phase flow pressure drop along the gas flow channels. As accumulated liquid water within gas flow channels resists the gas flow, the pressure drop increases along the flow channels. The two-phase flow pressure drop can reveal useful information about the amount of liquid water accumulated within gas flow channels. Liquid water transport though GDL has also been investigated by measuring the liquid water breakthrough pressure for the region between the capillary fingering and the stable displacement on the drainage phase diagram. The breakthrough pressure has been measured for different variables such as GDL thickness, PTFE/Nafion content within the GDL, GDL compression, the inclusion of a micro-porous layer (MPL), and different water flow rates through the GDL. Prior to all these studies, GDL microstructural properties have been studied. GDL microstructural properties such as mean pore diameter, pore diameter distribution, and pore roundness distribution have been investigated by analyzing SEM images of GDL samples.