A novel vortex heat flowmeter for redox flow batteries enables flow monitoring and control

Redox flow batteries are widely used in energy storage. There is an urgent need for a flow meter that can control the electrolyte flow. In this Letter, we designed a novel vortex heat flowmeter. Vortex flow is generated by a square cavity. This novel flowmeter exhibits two typical flow structures at different heating temperature differences (ΔT). The phenomenon is the influence of thermal buoyancy. A vortex heat flowmeter with good linearity can be developed. When ΔT increases, a micro-valve flow structure can control the opening degree and thus the flow rate. The distinction between the two is assessed: ΔT=3.58V−5.94.