Potential of Lattice Boltzmann method to determine the ohmic resistance in porous materials

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is a suitable tool for solving transport phenomena that occur in gas- and liquid phases at different length scales, especially when complex geometries such as porous media are involved. However, investigations about applications of LBM in the solid electrical conducting material have not been carried out yet. Since in fuel cells (FCs) the multifunctional layers play an important role during the energy conversion process, and such layers consist of porous material, the ohmic resistance of porous materials represents a crucial characteristic to be studied to predict the internal ohmic losses. The purpose of this paper is to show the feasibility of LBM to determine the ohmic resistance of electrical conducting materials whose dimensions are modified considering the cross-sectional area and length. Characteristics, limitations and recommendations of LBM applied to solid electrical conducting materials calculating the ohmic resistance are presented considering the coupling of the methodology with the Ohm’s Law. Additionally, the behavior of the ohmic resistance for a given porous material is presented.