Capillary-Driven Flow in Liquid Filaments Connecting Orthogonal Channels

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Capillary-Driven Flow in Liquid Filaments

Connecting Orthogonal Channels
Computational Fuel Cell Dynamics Workshop
Ban International Research Station, Ban, Canada
April 1925, 2003
Jerey S. Allen
National Center for Microgravity Research
NASA Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio
jeff.allen@grc.nasa.gov
About NCMR
The National Center for Microgravity Research on Fluids and Combustion
A cooperative venture between:
NASA Glenn Research Center Universities Space Research Association Case Western Reserve University
NCMR Mission Perform critical path research to support NASAs space program
and related national initiatives.
Support NASAs microgravity research in uids and combustion.
Increase awareness of microgravity research.
NCMR Vision Contribute to the understanding of gravitational eects
on uids and combustion phenomena.
Enable design and development of reduced-gravity experiments.
Be an international focal point for microgravity research,
technology, and educational activities.
Provide Science and Engineering Support to NASA for:
ground-based studies
experiment denition, design, development and testing
ight experiment operations
post-experiment data processing
use of unique NASA low-gravity testing facilities
Opening
Current Initiative
NASA would like to use an inexpensive, reliable, regenerative,
gravitationally-insensitive fuel cell for:
long-duration missions Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS)
shuttle replacement Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)
fuel cell must operate during:
_
_
normal-gravity (1 g),
launch (3-4 gs),
reentry (4-6 gs),
low-gravity (< 10
2
g),
Lunar gravity (1/6 g),
Martian gravity (1/3 g),
. . .
Are the fuel cells NASA desires to y gravitationally sensitive? YES!
Expect dramatic dierences in operation and performance with change in gravity level.
Is sensitivity to capillary phenomena strictly a low-gravity problem? NO!
Forces Acting on Product Water
What are the forces acting on the product water?
gravitational (g)
pressure (P)
shear (U)
inertial (U
2
)
capillary ( & )
When are capillary forces important?
low-gravity (low-g)
Lunar-g?
Martian-g?
_
_
_
How low is low?
small diameter (small-d)
cm?
mm?
_
_
_
How small is small?
Capillarity
Microscale Systems
What is the relationship between
small-g systems and small-size systems
(g uid ow and microuidics)?
surface forces (capillarity) dominate
body forces (gravity) in both systems
liquid
gas
not g ow nor uidic
liquid
gas
g ow and/or uidic
Capillary Denitions
microgravity (g):
gravitational acceleration g
(10
6
g < low gravity < 1g)
microuidic (uidic):
characteristic length 1 mm
(10
6
m < scale < 10
3
m)
meni scus
contact l i ne
contact angl e
gas l i qui d
Bond Number
Bond number: a measure of the relative eect of body forces (gravity)
to that of surface forces (capillarity) on a liquid surface.
Bo
gr
2
density change across surface

g gravitational acceleration
r characteristic length scale
surface tension
Bo 1 capillarity is negligible
Bo 1 gravity is negligible
cup of coee on Earth (1g): Bo O(100)
cup of coee on space station (10
4
g): Bo O(0.01)
coee in 800 m dia. tube (1g): Bo O(0.01)
Capillary Length
Capillary Length: length scale at which body forces (gravity)
and surface forces (capillarity) are comparable (Bo = 1).
Lc
_

g
l i qui d
gas
a
Lc
gas
l i qui d
Bo =
_
a
Lc
_
2
room temperature water @ 1g: Lc 2 mm
room temperature water @ g: Lc 2 m
Wettability & Contact Angle
common observation:
G G
water
tefl on
gl ass or metal
hydrophobic
or
hydrophilic
_
_
?
_
_
perfectly wetting: = 0
wetting: 0
< < 90
non-wetting: 90
< < 180
perfectly non-wetting: = 180
(Rame, 2001)
Low Bo Liquid Conguration
Eect of Contact Angle on Interface Shape and Liquid Location
Bo 1
circular cylinder
G = 45
o
G = 90
o
G = 135
o
closed, rectangular cylinder
q < 45
o
45
o
< q < 90
o
q > 135
o
(Weislogel, 1998)
Concus-Finn Condition
Capillary-driven ow may occur in a corner due to the decrease in the
radius of curvature at the edge where the two sides intersect. (Boys, 1911)
<

2

- static contact angle
- half-angle of corner
(Concus and Finn, 1969 & 1974)
Capillary-driven ow in a corner can occur in a corner
provided that the Concus-Finn condition is met:
Dimensionless Parameters
Capillary Number
Ca
U
for Bo 1, Ca is a measure of surface

deformation due to viscous stresses
Weber Number
We
LU
2
for Bo 1, We > 1 implies that the liquid surface

may break up due to convective ows
Suratman Number
Su
L
2
for Bo 1, Su is a measure of inertia
Ohnesorge Number: Oh 1/
Su
(Weislogel, 1998)
Capillarity & Product Water
in PEM Fuel Cells
Polarization Losses
0. 5
1 . 0
500 1 000 1 500
current densi ty, mA/cm
2
c
e
l
l
v
o
l
t
a
g
e
,
V
Acti vati on Pol ari zati on
(reacti on rate l oss)
Ohmi c Pol ari zati on
(resi stance l oss)
Concentrati on
Pol ari zati on
(gas transport l oss)
Theoreti cal EMF or i deal vol tage
Activation Polarization losses due to
oxidation/reduction kinetics
Ohmic Polarization losses due to
resistance in electron and ionic
conduction
Concentration Polarization excess
water oods the gas diusion layer
or plugs the gas ow channel
water management is critical to

the performance of a PEM fuel cell
PEM Fuel Cell Design
Hydrogen
O
x
y
g
e
n
&
W
a
t
e
r
Anode (porous)
Cathode (porous)
O
x
y
g
e
n
Hydrated
Membrane
fuel cell stack
Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA)
proton conducting membrane between two
platinum embedded electrodes
perourinated sulfonic acid polymer
ion conduction requires hydration
porous electrodes (GDL) non-wetting (?)
Gas Flow Channels
optimized for MEA structural support,
electrical resistance, and surface area for
gas diusion
typically machined graphite
gas ow channels are wetting (?)
Gas Flow Channel
O
2
H
2
anode cathode
Li qui d Hol dup
channel cross section: 1 mm 1 mm
1g: Lc 1.5 mm; Bo 0.4
g: Lc 1.5 m; Bo 4 10
7
Must consider capillarity for both 1g and g!

Characteristics of Gas Flow Channels
i nl et
outl et
gas-liquid ows, liquid lm on walls with gas/vapor core ow
manifolding gas inlets and two-phase ow outlets
sharp corners, bends, entrances and exits
channel bifurcations and mergings
multiple, parallel ow paths of unequal length
uniform cross section, typically 1 mm 1 mm
one channel wall non-wetting, remaining 3 channel walls wetting
Capillary-Driven Film Flow
Capillary-driven lm ow can result in gas encapsulation (liquid holdup)
4
gas core
l i qui d fi l m
D
gas
gas gas
h/R > 0. 1
capi l l ary-dri ven
i nstabi l i ty
l i qui d "pi nch-off"
Bo 1
= 0
time scale for instability:

t
R
4
h
3
(Hammond, 1983 and Hu & Joseph, 1989)
typically, t
10
3
seconds
Flow Regimes in Low Bond Number Circular Channels
Liquid Water Film Flow
and Lobe Formation
Gas Core Flow
Flow Direction
capillary I. D.
350 mm
Plug Flow Annular Flow
shear-induced
perturbation
Re
g
/Re
l
500
capillary-induced
perturbation
Re
g
/Re
l
10
(Son & Allen, 2002)
Cerro Bubbles
Taylor Bubbles in a Square Channel
Ca < 0. 1
gas
core
Ca > 0. 1
gas
core
(Kolb & Cerro, 1991)
(Park, Kihm, & Allen, 2002)
Redistribution of Liquid
via
Capillary-Driven Corner Flow
Microuidics Chip
liquid plug
trapped gas bubble
gas core
liquid flow
Dyed water in microchannel network.
Large channel 120 m wide.
Small channel 40 m wide.
Width-to-Depth aspect ratio 3.
Caliper NS374 microuidics chip
developed with the NASA IBC Program
for protein crystallography
Bo
large
3 10
3
Bo
small
3 10
4
IBC Image Sequence
Liquid (red) is being transferred
from the wide liquid column into
the narrow liquid columns through
corners in the channels.
Shrinking Liquid Column
avg. velocity of receding meniscus = 264 m/sec
avg. volumetric ow rate = 6.2610
4
liter/sec
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
l
e
n
g
t
h

o
f

l
i
q
u
i
d

c
o
l
u
m
n

(
m
)
time (seconds)
2/14/2003 LOCAD Video
Clip 4, Segment 1
length = a+b*time
a = 1427.3
b = -264.4 m/sec
R = 0.99985
Channel Cross-Section
4
gas core
liquid film
Capillary-Driven Corner Flow w/o Gas Flow
no shear at gas-liquid interface
Capillary-driven ow may occur in a corner due to the decrease in the
radius of curvature at the edge where the two sides intersect. (Boys, 1911)
<

2

- static contact angle
- half-angle of corner
(Concus and Finn, 1969 & 1974)
Capillary-driven ow in a corner can occur in a corner
provided that the Concus-Finn condition is met:
Geometry of Corner Flow Analysis
G
=
=
4
>
>
@
?
N
O
x
z
l
d
0
d
1
R
0
d(z,t)
R
1
d(z, t) local centerline depth of liquid
R(z, t) local radius of curvature
a(z, t) local spanwise extent of liquid
local, dimensionless curvature:

d
R
=
sin
cos sin
d
0
/
D d
0
/d
1
contact angle
half-angle of corner
/2 ( + )
Parameters of Corner Flow Analysis
Based upon formulation by Weislogel, et al. (1996, 1998, 2000-2003).
G
=
=
4
>
>
@
?
N
O
Scaling:
= x/d
0
= y/d
0
tan = z/
u = u/U v = v/V w = w/W
p = p/P = d/d
0
= Wt/
V = u

x
+ v

y
+ w

z
=
U
d
0
_
2
=

2
x
2
+

2
y
2
+

2
z
2
=
1
d
2
0
2
=

2
2
+
1
tan
2
2
+
2

2
2
dimensionless cross-sectional area:

2
_
cos sin
sin

_
cross-sectional area:
A = d
2

Equations of Motion
from continuity,
U W
V tan W
from conservation of momentum,
2
Su
_
w
_
=
p
2
w
4
Su
_
u
_
=
p
+
2
_
2
u
_
4
Su
_
v
_
=
p
+
2
tan
2
2
v
_
mass balance in z-direction,
A
t
=

Q
z
Q = w A = w d
2
Su =
d
0
2
P =

d
0
W =

Boundary Conditions:
no-slip at walls
symmetry at = 0
dynamic contact angle model
Reduced Set
conservation of momentum reduces to the
lubrication approximation
p
=

2
w
2
+
1
tan
2
2
w
2
which has the general solution of
w = F
i
subject to the following conditions
2
1
2
1
2
Su 1 Su 1
F
i
is a numerically determined ow coecient.
Weislogel (1996) has shown that 1/8 < F
i
< 1/6.
mass balance reduces to
2
_
_
w
2
_
which when combined with the momentum
solution results in the following evolution
equation
2
= F
i
_
2
_
_
2
+
2
_
Constant Flow Rate Solution
for a constant ow rate and specifying d
0
and d
1
as boundary conditions, the
evolution equation reduces to
=
_
1
_
1 D
3
_
1/3
w =
Q
d
2
0
=
G
3
_
1 D
3
_
where G is a characteristic velocity
G = F
i
sin
2
This solution may also be expressed in

terms of a Ca
Ca =
w
=
F
i
sin
2
3
_
1 D
3
_
x
z
l
d
0
d
1
R
0
d(z,t)
R
1
= d
0
/
D = d
1
/d
0
= sin /(cos sin )
=
2
(cos sin / sin )
Estimate of Boundary Conditions for LOCAD Channels
If the radii of curvature of the liquid surface
at = 0, 1 can be determined, then the
liquid depths, d
0
, d
1
, may be calculated
from knowing . Assume that the two
orthoganal radii of curvature at a meniscus
are equal to half of the channel width and
depth respectively. Since the channel width
is three times the channel depth, the
pressure drop across the meniscus can be
expressed as
p
gas
p
liquid
=
8
width
Assuming that the pressure drop across the
interface at = 0, 1 is equal to the pressure
drop across the meniscus (questionable
assumption), then R = width/8 and the
liquid depth is
d
0,1
=
width
0,1
8
41
= 46
=
sin
cos sin
= 1.93
=
2
_
cos sin
sin

_
= 1.067
width
0
120m d
0
= 7.8m
width
1
40m d
1
= 2.3m
D = d
1
/d
0
= 0.3
= 545.5m = 0.014
= 0.045 N/m
= 0.001 kg/ms
= 1000 kg/m
3
Calculation of Flow Rate in Corner of LOCAD Channels
Rate of capillary-driven corner ow based upon
previous pages estimates of geometry and physical
properties:
G = F
i
_
_
sin
2
= 1.43 m/s
Q =
G(d
2
0
)
3
_
1 D
3
_
= 4.67 10
4
liter/s
w =
Q
d
2
0
= 0.143 m/s
Ca =
w
= 0.223
Re =
w d
0
= 1.13
Su =
d
0
2
= 181
Ideally, the calculated ow rate should
half of the measured ow rate since the
liquid is owing down two corners. The
measured ow rate is
Q
m
= 6.26 10
4
liter/s
Q
m
= 0.75
This is not a bad estimate given the
uncertainty of the geometry and the uid
properties as well as the ow resistance of the
liquid turning the bend from the small channel
to the large channel having been neglected.
Similarity solution for d
1
= 0 and constant ow
rate and the tip location, L = 545 m.
Q
L
Q
m
= 0.63
Stability of Liquid Films
&
Liquid Holdup
Liquid Holdup in Narrow Channels
Pinch-o of liquid lm (Liquid Holdup) in
the narrow channels is most likely the
result of inertia (Su = 181) associated with
the liquid turning the corner.
Contact Angle Eect on Liquid Holdup
A change in the contact angle has
a dramatic aect on the behavior
of the liquid lament.
Water in a dirty system produces
laments of gas. The laments result
from dry regions on the viewing
surface of the channels.
Closing
Open Problems
What is preventing the development of NASAs Fuel Cell?
Knowledge gap in low-Bo, two-phase ow
in complex, non-circular geometries!
Open Problems Related to Capillarity and PEM Fuel Cells
stability of liquid lms in non-circular geometries
shear-induced instabilities
capillary-induced instabilities
channel entrances, exits, bends
channel bifurcations and mergings
contact angle eects
gas-liquid separation in multiple manifolding channels
(low and high Bo)
cell
cell stack
stack integration
Technologies with Similar Capillary Issues
microuidic devices
lab-on-a-chip systems
bio-chip systems
micro-reactors
micro-power systems
miniature fuel cells
microcombustors
Acknowledgements
NCMR Research for Design (R4D) Initiative
Dr. Sang Young Son & Dr. M. Kassemi, NCMR
Prof. Mark Weislogel, Portland State University
Microuidics video courtesy of the Lab-On-Chip
Application Development (LOCAD) Program,
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Alabama
Dr. Lisa Monaco, Scott Spearing, & Dr. Helen Cole
Spotlight Image Analysis Software
Dr. Robert Klimek, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Contents
0.1 About NCMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1 Opening 3
1.1 Current Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Forces Acting on Product Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Capillarity 6
2.1 Microscale Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Capillary Denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Bond Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 Capillary Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.5 Wettability & Contact Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 Low Bo Liquid Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.7 Concus-Finn Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.8 Dimensionless Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Capillarity & Product Water in PEM Fuel Cells 15
3.1 Polarization Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 PEM Fuel Cell Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Gas Flow Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 Characteristics of Gas Flow Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.5 Capillary-Driven Film Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.6 Flow Regimes in Low Bond Number Circular Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.7 Cerro Bubbles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4 Redistribution of Liquid via Capillary-Driven Corner Flow 23
4.1 Microuidics Chip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2 IBC Image Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.3 Shrinking Liquid Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.4 Channel Cross-Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.5 Concus-Finn Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.6 Geometry of Corner Flow Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.7 Parameters of Corner Flow Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.8 Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.9 Reduced Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.10 Constant Flow Rate Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.11 Estimate of Boundary Conditions for LOCAD Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.12 Calculation of Flow Rate in Corner of LOCAD Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5 Stability of Liquid Films & Liquid Holdup 36
5.1 Liquid Holdup in Narrow Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.2 Contact Angle Eect on Liquid Holdup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6 Closing 39
6.1 Open Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.2 Similar Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.3 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Capillary-Driven Flow in Liquid Filaments Connecting Orthogonal Channels

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Capillary-Driven Flow in Liquid Filaments Connecting Orthogonal Channels

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Capillary-Driven Flow in Liquid Filaments

density change across surface

< < 180

perfectly non-wetting: = 180

for Bo 1, Ca is a measure of surface

for Bo 1, We > 1 implies that the liquid surface

water management is critical to

Must consider capillarity for both 1g and g!

time scale for instability:

First Prev Next Last Go Back Full Screen Close Quit

subject to the following conditions

This solution may also be expressed in

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