Numerical investigation of water dynamics in a novel wettability gradient anode flow channel for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (13) ◽  
pp. 10282-10294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqing Zhang ◽  
Jiapei Yang ◽  
Xiao Ma ◽  
Wenmiao Chen ◽  
Shijin Shuai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Numerical Investigation ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells with Honeycomb-like Flow Channel Design

Energy ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 122102
Author(s):  
Shuanyang Zhang ◽  
Shun Liu ◽  
Hongtao Xu ◽  
Gaojie Liu ◽  
Ke Wang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Channel Design ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Experimental Investigation of the Water Impact on Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) With Porous and Non-Porous Flow Channels

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Karthikeyan ◽  
H. Calvin Li ◽  
G. Lipscomb ◽  
S. Neelakrishnan ◽  
J. G. Abby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Removal Rate ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Water Removal ◽  
Flow Channels ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The most critical aspect of fuel cell water management is the delicate balance of membrane hydration and avoiding cathode flooding. Liquid water accumulation in the interfacial contact area between the flow channel landing and gas diffusion layer (GDL) can dramatically impact steady and transient performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this concern, a porous landing could facilitate water removal in the cathode flow channel and significantly improve PEMFCs performance. In this work, an attempt has been made to fabricate the porous interdigitated cathode flow channels from a porous carbon sheet. Performance measurements have been made with nominally identical PEMFCs using non-porous (serpentine and interdigitated) and porous (interdigitated) cathode flow channels. PEMFCs with porous interdigitated flow channels had 48% greater power output than PEMFCs with non-porous interdigitated flow channels at high current densities. For the non-porous interdigitated flow channel, significant performance loss appears to arise from greatly reduced oxygen transport rates when the water generation rate exceeds the water removal rate, however for the porous interdigitated flow channel, the design removes the accumulated liquid water from the landing area through the capillarity of its porous structure and eliminates the stagnant regions under the landing, thereby reducing liquid flooding in the interface between landing and GDL area.

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