Research Article
Effect of cross-sectional geometry in flow behaviour: A steady state computational study
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/eai.17-11-2023.2342862, author={Vijai Kaarthi Visvanathan and Karthikeyan Palaniswamy and Dineshkumar Ponnaiyan and Boopathi Rathinam}, title={Effect of cross-sectional geometry in flow behaviour: A steady state computational study}, proceedings={Proceedings of the First International Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology Practices for Sustainable Development, ICSETPSD 2023, 17th-18th November 2023, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India}, publisher={EAI}, proceedings_a={ICSETPSD}, year={2024}, month={1}, keywords={fluid flow turbulent kinetic energy pressure drop velocity distribution geometric effects}, doi={10.4108/eai.17-11-2023.2342862} }- Vijai Kaarthi Visvanathan
Karthikeyan Palaniswamy
Dineshkumar Ponnaiyan
Boopathi Rathinam
Year: 2024
Effect of cross-sectional geometry in flow behaviour: A steady state computational study
ICSETPSD
EAI
DOI: 10.4108/eai.17-11-2023.2342862
Abstract
In this article, the effect of cross-sectional geometry on the flow behaviour of hydrogen in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is studied using a steady state computational model. Three geometric shapes: semi circular, triangular and rectangular are considered in this study. The results show that the triangular geometry has the highest velocity and pressure drop in the channel, while the lowest is by the rectangular geometry. The velocity profiles of all three geometries are found to be parabolic in the fully developed region, with the triangular geometry having the centroid at 113rd of the base height and hence the maximum velocity shifts to that line. The turbulent kinetic energy values are found to be highest at the inlet and saturates at fully developed regions. From this analysis, a rectangular section (or) a semicircular section is having uniform flow distribution and less turbulence and is suitable for the fuel cell flow applications.