@article{38341,
  keywords = {dynamics, transport, 2-phase flow, cathode channel, gas channels, liquid water, management, neutron-radiography, pemfc, PEM fuel cell, Pressure   drop, pressure-drop, Slug flow, Two-phase flow, Water management},
  author = {Carlos Colosqui and May Cheah and Ioannis Kevrekidis and Jay Benziger},
  title = {Droplet and slug formation in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell flow channels: The role of interfacial forces},
  abstract = { <p>A microfluidic device is employed to emulate water droplet emergence from a porous electrode and slug formation in the gas flow channel of a PEM fuel cell. Liquid water emerges from a 50 mu m pore forming a droplet; the droplet grows to span the entire cross-section of a microchannel and transitions into a slug which detaches and is swept downstream. Droplet growth, slug formation, detachment, and motion are analyzed using high-speed video images and pressure-time traces. Slug volume is controlled primarily by channel geometry, interfacial forces, and gravity. As water slugs move downstream, they leave residual micro-droplets that act as nucleation sites for the next droplet-to-slug transition. Residual liquid in the form of micro-droplets results in a significant decrease in slug volume between the very first slug formed in an initially dry channel and the ultimate "steady-state" slug. A physics-based model is presented to predict slug volumes and pressure drops for slug detachment and motion. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p> },
  year = {2011},
  journal = {Journal of Power Sources},
  volume = {196},
  pages = {10057-10068},
  month = {12/2011},
  isbn = {0378-7753},
  language = {English},
}