Multiphysics simulation explaining the behaviour of evaporation-driven nanoporous generators
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Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
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Date
2022-03-15
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Mcode
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Language
en
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Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 256
Abstract
Evaporation-induced electricity generation in porous nanomaterials has recently attracted considerable attention due to relatively high produced voltages and wide operating conditions. Here, we present a combined study of computational and experimental work exploiting finite-element method simulations to find the critical parameters influencing the performance of such generators. The simulated behaviour is found to agree with the experimental data within typical variation of the measurements. We find that the electrical power produced by the generator depends not only on the properties of the porous material, but also on the surrounding environment of the generator. Particularly, the pore size and geometry are found to have a significant influence on the output power, highlighting the importance of accurate characterization of the samples and careful control of the laboratory conditions when performing experimental work. Increasing the pore size from 5 to 20 nm improves the simulated output voltage from 0.12 to 0.47 V, while increasing the ambient humidity to 100% will prevent voltage generation completely. The obtained results can guide the future design of generators based on water evaporation induced capillary flow in a nanoporous carbon black film, leading to more efficient power production.Description
Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Academy of Finland project 319018. L.H. and T.K. acknowledge funding from the Aalto ELEC doctoral school, and C.T. from the Vilho, Yrjö ja Kalle Väisälä Fund grant issued by the Finnish Academy of Arts and Sciences. T.K. acknowledges the support from the Walter Ahlström foundation. Further thanks go to Dr. Benjamin Wilson for the pycnometry measurements. The pycnometry was done using the Raw Materials research infrastructure by Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, and other experimental work using the facilities and equipment of Micronova Nanofabrication Center. Finally, we acknowledge the computational resources provided by the Aalto Science-IT project. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Academy of Finland project 319018. L.H. and T.K. acknowledge funding from the Aalto ELEC doctoral school, and C.T. from the Vilho, Yrj? ja Kalle V?is?l? Fund grant issued by the Finnish Academy of Arts and Sciences. T.K. acknowledges the support from the Walter Ahlstr?m foundation. Further thanks go to Dr. Benjamin Wilson for the pycnometry measurements. The pycnometry was done using the Raw Materials research infrastructure by Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, and other experimental work using the facilities and equipment of Micronova Nanofabrication Center. Finally, we acknowledge the computational resources provided by the Aalto Science-IT project. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Keywords
Finite-element method, Generator, Nanoporous carbon, Simulation, Streaming current
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Citation
Hällström, L, Koskinen, T, Tossi, C, Juntunen, T & Tittonen, I 2022, ' Multiphysics simulation explaining the behaviour of evaporation-driven nanoporous generators ', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 256, 115382 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2022.115382
