Determination of Permeability in Fibrous Porous Media using the Lattice Boltzmann Method with Application to PEM Fuel Cells

摘要

The lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate the flow through an idealized porous transport layer geometry generated using a Monte Carlo method. Using the calculated flow field, Darcy's law is applied and the permeability calculated. This process is applied in both the through and in-plane directions of the paper as both of these permeability values are important in CFD models of PEMFCs.rnIt is shown that the lattice Boltzmann method can be used to determine permeability in a random porous media by solving the flow in the microstructure of the material. The permeability in the through and in-plane directions is shown to be different and the anisotropic nature of the geometry creates anisotropic permeability. It is also found that fiber arrangement plays a large role in the permeability of the porous transport layer.