Numerical modelling of Plateau-Rayleigh instability in capillary tubes of fuel cells
Résumé
Liquid/vapour water flows are encountered in a variety of fields, such as in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), an emerging technology for energy decarbonation. In PEMFC, two-phase water flows are observed in the gas fuel channels (GFC) used to supply the reactive species to the cell. In these millimetric-size GFC, the Plateau-Rayleigh instability may lead to the formation of liquid plugs. The present work aims at understanding the plug formation mechanism and its implications on the fuel cell operation. A numerical approach, based on a Front-Tracking method (TRUST-TrioCFD software), is used to perform 2D-axisymmetrical simulations of liquid water plug formation in a model problem of a circular capillary tube. The plug formation is first studied in absence of an imposed gas flow and compared to a lubrication model. A stability analysis is also performed and demonstrates the importance of both inertia and viscosity in the liquid/vapour water system. A gas flow is then imposed. Correlations between flow rates, void fraction and pressure losses are obtained from permanent regime simulations and will later be used to develop a 1D macroscopic two-phase model of the PEMFC channels.
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