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Maziar Veyskarami

Publications and source records attributed to Maziar Veyskarami.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

A dynamic pore-network model with discrete microbubble transport

We develop a hybrid pore-network model (PNM) for discrete microbubble transport coupled to connected two-phase flow in porous media. We apply the model to simulate flow in the porous transport layer of a rotating proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser. At sufficiently large apparent gravitational forces, bubbles growing at the catalyst layer can detach at sizes smaller than the characteristic pore size and move through liquid-filled pores via buoyancy and advection. The model couples a dynamic two-phase PNM to a Lagrangian bubble tracker. Pore-scale Stokes simulations in square throats provide closures for the bubble buoyancy velocity, the hydraulic resistance of bubble-occupied throats, and the reciprocal coupling between liquid flow and bubble motion. Verification tests assess conservation, pressure-flow coupling, bubble growth, advection, merging, trapping, and transfer to the connected gas phase. The network simulations show that increasing apparent gravitational forces shifts a larger fraction of the produced gas toward discrete-bubble transport. The increase mostly comes from a reduced detachment radius, which decreases bubble size and lets them move more freely through the network.

cs.CE↗

Improvement of fully-implicit two-phase pore-network models by employing generalized flux functions with additional throat variables

In fully-implicit two-phase pore-network models, developing a well-converged scheme remains a major challenge, primarily due to the discontinuities in the phase conductivities. This paper addresses these numerical issues by proposing a generalized flux function that establishes a continuous flux expression for two-phase flows by introducing an additional throat variable $Θ$. Two approaches for expressing this additional throat variable are introduced: the first applies regularization strategies, while the second constructs an additional residual constraint equation. It is shown that this approach significantly improves accuracy and ensures the temporal convergence, as demonstrated through various numerical examples.

math.NA↗

Two-phase flow dynamics at the interface between GDL and gas distributor channel using a pore-network model

For improved operating conditions of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, a sophisticated water management is crucial. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the transport mechanisms of water throughout the cell constituents especially on the cathode side, where the excess water has to be removed. Pore-scale modeling of diffusion layers and gas distributor has been established as a favorable technique to investigate the ongoing processes. Investigating the interface between the cathode layers, a particular challenge is the combination and interaction of the multi-phase flow in the porous material of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) with the free flow in the gas distributor channels. The formation, growth and detachment of water droplets on the hydrophobic, porous surface of the GDL have a major influence on the mass, momentum and energy exchange between the layers. A dynamic pore-network model is used to describe the flow through the porous GDL on the pore-scale. To capture the droplet occurrence and its influence on the flow, this dynamic two-phase pore-network model is extended to capture droplet formation and growth at the surface of the GDL as well as droplet detachment due to the gas flow in the gas distributor channels. In this article, the developed model is applied to single- and multi-tube systems to investigate the general drop behavior. These rather simple test-cases are compared to experimental and numerical data available in the literature. Finally, the model is applied to a GDL unit cell to analyse the interaction between two-phase flow through the GDL and drop formation at the interface between GDL and gas distributor channel.

physics.flu-dyn↗