Mitigation of losses from hydrodynamic mixing in a hydrogen bromine Laminar flow battery
Name
952187447-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
5.94 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5ae74268523d63ca4c3ad5f27b170002
Author(s)
Gilson, Laura (Laura Marie)
Advisor(s)
Cullen R. Buie.
Date Issued
2016
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The hydrogen bromine laminar flow battery is a promising technology for grid-scale energy storage. It dispenses with the expensive membrane used in traditional flow batteries, instead using laminar flow to maintain the separation of fluid streams. It also takes advantage of powerful, inexpensive chemical reactants. However, mixing between the fluid streams within the battery reduces its single-pass performance and cyclability. Conditions at the inlet junction where oxidant and electrolyte streams come together are thought to influence mixing. This work investigates the relationship between fluid flow at the inlet junction, mixing, and battery performance. Matching electrolyte- and oxidant-stream flow rates or velocities is predicted to cause less mixing than employing hydrodynamic focusing of the oxidant stream. When hydrodynamic focusing is used in channels with heights on the order 500 [mu]m or less, numerical simulations show recirculating flows at the inlet junction and experimental results show a decrease in limiting current. However, for matching inlet velocities or flow rates experimental results show limiting current consistent with predictions that assume no mixing. This result shows a path forward achieving higher power density in the hydrogen bromine laminar flow battery by prioritizing symmetry of the inlet flow conditions as the channel height is decreased.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-64).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
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