Diffusion layer liquid transport properties

In this section, we will briefly discuss different testing techniques that are widely used to measure most of the important mass transport properties of fhe diffusion layers. It is important to note that these techniques can also be used with MPLs. The first subsection will explain methods that deal with properties that affect both gas and liquid mass transport, and the other two subsections will discuss only techniques that measure gas and liquid transport properties, respectively. 

The thickness of the diffusion layer is directly related to the mass transport of gases and liquid within the material because it determines the length of the flow path. The electrical conductivity and resistance of the DL are also affected substantially by the thickness of the material. Therefore, to choose an optimal DL, there has to be a compromise between the thickness of the material and the properties mentioned before. 

As stated earlier, CEP and CC are the most common materials used in the PEM and direct liquid fuel cell due fo fheir nature, it is critical to understand how their porosity, pore size distribution, and capillary flow (and pressures) affecf fhe cell s overall performance. In addition to these properties, pressure drop measurements between the inlet and outlet streams of fuel cells are widely used as an indication of the liquid and gas transport within different diffusion layers. In fhis section, we will discuss the main methods used to measure and determine these properties that play such an important role in the improvement of bofh gas and liquid transport mechanisms. 

As indicated above, much interest exists in dynamic behavior of thin aligned layers of nematic liquid crystals. It is not surprising to find, therefore, that measurement of the anisotropy of transport properties has been the objective of many studies of thermotropic systems. The literature on anisotropic thermal conductivity in nematic liquid crystals has been reviewed recently by Rajan and Picot (12). Among the studies of anisotropic diffusion are those of Yun and Fredrickson (13), Bline... 

Pick s laws also describe diffusion in solid phases. In solids transport properties can be considerably different than in liquid phases. Only one component can mobile diffuse in the matrix of the second component. At higher temperatures the diffusion coefficient can be more similar in size than in liquid phases, but the diffusion coefficient at room temperature can be orders of magnitudes smaller, e.g., D < 10 ° cm s k To overcome the time limitation one must make the diffusion length smaller. Ultra-thin layers or nanoparticles provide such small dimensions. Under such conditions the diffusion is not semi-infinite but has a restricted extension. This has to be considered in the boundary conditions. 

Luo, G., Ji, Y, Wang, C., 2010, Modeling liquid water transport in gas diffusion layers by topologically equivalent pore network , Electrochim. Acta, 55 (19) pp. 5332. Medici, E. F., and Allen, J. S., 2010, The effects of morphological and wetting properties of porous transport layers on water movement in PEM fuel cells , J. Electrochem. Soc., 157 (10) pp. B1505. 

Park and Popov (2009) studied the effect of hydrophobic and structural properties of a single or dual cathode gas diffusion layer on mass transport in PEMFCs using an analytical expression. The simulations indicated that liquid water transport at the cathode is controlled by the fi action of hydrophilic surface and the average pore diameter in the cathode gas-diffusion layer. 

The transport behavior of IL interface layers on mineral solid surfaces always relates to important applications of wear and lubrication. To further study the transport properties of different IL surface-layers on a graphite surface, we have performed MD simulations for l-butyl-3-methylimidazo-lium based ionic liquids with three different anions to determine the structure and transport properties of solid/liquid interfaces over a wide range of temperature. The temperature dependence of structure is more obvious for [bmim][Cl] compared with [bmimJIPFe] and [bmim][Tf2N]. The surface diffusion behavior of the ionic liquids on the graphite slab was also... 

When the two liquid phases are in relative motion, the mass transfer coefficients in either phase must be related to the dynamical properties of the liquids. The boundary layer thicknesses are related to the Reynolds number, and the diffusive transfer to the Schmidt number. Another complication is that such a boundary cannot in many circumstances be regarded as a simple planar interface, but eddies of material are transported to the interface from the bulk of each liquid which change the concentration profile normal to the interface. In the simple isothermal model there is no need to take account of this fact, but in most industrial circumstances the two liquids are not in an isothermal system, but in one in which there is a temperature gradient. The simple stationary mass transfer model must therefore be replaced by an eddy mass transfer which takes account of this surface replenishment. 

As follows from the hydrodynamic properties of systems involving phase boundaries (see e.g. [86a], chapter 2), the hydrodynamic, Prandtl or stagnant layer is formed during liquid movement along a boundary with a solid phase, i.e. also at the surface of an ISE with a solid or plastic membrane. The liquid velocity rapidly decreases in this layer as a result of viscosity forces. Very close to the interface, the liquid velocity decreases to such an extent that the material is virtually transported by diffusion alone in the Nernst layer (see fig. 4.13). It follows from the theory of diffusion transport toward a plane with characteristic length /, along which a liquid flows at velocity Vo, that the Nernst layer thickness, 5, is given approximately by the expression,... 

The mechanism of the competitive pertraction system (CPS) is presented schematically in Fig. 5.4 together with the compartmental model necessary for constructing the reaction-diffusion network. The simple flat-layered bulk liquid membrane of the thickness En and interface area S separates the two reservoirs (f, feed and s, stripping) containing transported divalent cations A2+ and B2+ (most frequently Zn2+ and Cu2+ or Ca2+ and Mg2+) and/or antiported univalent cations H+. At any time of pertraction t, their concentrations are [A]f, [B]f, and [H]f and [A]s, [Bj, and [H]s, for the feed and stripping solution, respectively. The hydrophobic liquid membrane contains a carrier of total concentration [C]. Its main property is the ability to react reversibly with cations at respective reaction zone and to diffuse throughout the liquid membrane phase. 

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