Modelado CFD del transporte electroquímico en baterías de flujo redox de vanadio para determinar coeficientes de transferencia de masa en la interfaz electrodo-canal

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are electrochemical energy storage devices well-suited for medium- and large-scale renewable energy applications. They offer advantages such as enhanced safety, decoupling of energy capacity from power output, and minimized crossover of chemical species. The performance and capacity of VRFBs are governed by complex mass and momentum transport phenomena, as well as electrochemical redox kinetics occurring within the membrane-electrode assemblies inside the battery cells. Experimental and modeling research aimed at optimizing mass transport performance in VRFBs has primarily focused on comparing flow field designs, though results have often been contradictory.

To address this challenge, an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver will be developed in OpenFOAM, tailored for reactive flows in porous media with electrochemical mass transfer. This solver will be used to simulate the mass and momentum boundary layers adjacent to the interface between the channel electrolyte and the electrode in a VRFB with parallel flow configuration and serpentine design. From these simulations, correlations for mass transfer coefficients will be derived to support the industrial scaling of redox flow batteries. These correlations, backed by detailed analysis of transport phenomena, will also contribute to the future development of a multiscale multiphysics model for simulating mass transport and performance in real VRFB reactors.

Funding Program: Internal, Open Seed Fund 2024

Project Duration: 12 months

Principal Investigator: Felipe Huerta Pérez