Modeling and Simulation of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery with Interdigitated Flow Field for Optimizing Electrode Architecture

Abstract

The fibrous electrodes used in redox flow batteries are a key component of the batteries and have a determining effect on their performance. In this work, a two-dimensional numerical model of redox flow batteries was developed and used to optimize the architecture of the electrodes employed in vanadium redox flow batteries with interdigitated flow fields. The developed model was validated and subsequently used to determine the optimized electrode architecture. During the optimization process, we considered the fiber diameter, porosity, and thickness of the fibrous electrode as well as the geometrical properties of the channel. Numerical simulations revealed that the cell performance can be improved significantly by employing electrodes consisting of finer fibers. We also show that multiple-parameter optimization that considers the electrode properties and channel geometry is essential for improving the design of redox flow batteries.