scholarly journals Numerical Modeling and Evaluation of PEM Used for Fuel Cell Vehicles

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 7907
Author(s):  
Yousef Darvishi ◽  
Seyed Reza Hassan-Beygi ◽  
Payam Zarafshan ◽  
Khadijeh Hooshyari ◽  
Urszula Malaga-Toboła ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Reaction Heat ◽  
Flow Channels ◽  
Steady Mode ◽  
Heat Activation ◽  
Square Cells ◽  
Activation Heat

The present study sought to analyze a novel type of polymer membrane fuel cell to be used in vehicles. The performance of the fuel cell was evaluated by modeling the types of production–consumption heat in the anode and cathode (including half-reaction heat, activation heat, and absorption/desorption heat) and waterflood conditions. The meshing of flow channels was carried out by square cells and the governing equations were numerically discretized in the steady mode using the finite difference method followed by solving in MATLAB software. Based on the simulation results, the anodic absorption/desorption heat, anodic half-reaction heat, and cathodic activation heat are positive while the cathodic absorption/desorption heat and cathodic half-reaction heat show negative values. All heat values exhibit a decremental trend over the flow channel. Considering the effect of relative humidity, the relative humidity of the cathode showed no significant change while the anode relative humidity decreased along the flow channel. The velocity at the membrane layer was considerably lower, due to the smaller permeability coefficient of this layer compared to the gas diffusion and reactants (cathode) layers.

Numerical Study on the Influence of Cathode Flow Channel Baffles on PEM Fuel Cell Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 853 ◽  
pp. 410-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Shen ◽  
Jin Zhu Tan ◽  
Yun Li
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Electrochemical Performance ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Flow Channels

A proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is an electrochemical device that directly converts chemical energy of hydrogen into electric energy.The structure of the flow channel is critical to the PEM fuel cell performance. In this paper, the effect of the cathode flow channel baffles on PEM fuel cell performance was investigated numerically. A three-dimensional model was established for the PEM fuel cell which consisted of bipolar plates with three serpentine flow channels, gas diffusion layers, catalyst layers and PEM. Baffles were added in the cathode flow channels to study the effect of the cathode flow channel baffle on the PEM fuel cell performance. And then, numerical simulation for the PEM fuel cell with various cathode channel baffle heights ranging from 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm was conducted.The simulated results show that there existed an optimal cathode flow channel baffle height in terms of the electrochemical performance as all other parameters of the PEM fuel cell were kept constant. It is found that the PEM fuel cell had the good electrochemical performance as the flow channel baffle heights was 0.4mm in this work.

scholarly journals The Effects of the PEM Fuel Cell Performance with the Waved Flow Channels

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue-Tzu Yang ◽  
Kuo-Teng Tsai ◽  
Cha’o-Kuang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Wave Number ◽  
Gap Size ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance

The objective of this study is to use a new style of waved flow channel instead of the plane surface channel in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The velocity, concentration, and electrical performance with the waved flow channel in PEMFC are investigated by numerical simulations. The results show that the waved channel arises when the transport benefits through the porous layer and improves the performance of the PEMFC. This is because the waved flow channel enhances the forced convection and causes the more reactant gas flow into the gas diffusion layer (GDL). The performance which was compared to a conventional straight gas flow channel increases significantly with the small gap size when it is smaller than 0.5 in the waved flow channel. The performance is decreased at the high and low velocities as the force convection mechanism is weakened and the reactant gas supply is insufficient. The pressure drop is increased as the gap size becomes smaller, and the wave number decreases. (gap size)δ> 0.3 has a reasonable pressure drop. Consequently, compared to a conventional PEMFC, the waved flow channel improves approximately 30% of power density.

Numerical Simulation of Droplet Emergence and Growth From Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Flow Channels

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingru Benner ◽  
Mehdi Mortazavi ◽  
Anthony D. Santamaria
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Gas Diffusion Layers ◽  
Diffusion Layers ◽  
Flow Channels ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Over Time

Liquid water management is critical for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell operation, as excessive humidity can lead to flooding and cell performance degradation. Water is produced in the cathode catalyst layer during the electrochemical reaction. If reactant gas streams become saturated, liquid water forms and must travel through anode and cathode Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) to reach flow channels for removal. Understanding the dynamic behavior of the droplet is critical to improve water removal strategies for PEM fuel cells. In this study a 3D, transient, two-phase model based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method was developed to study a single droplet in the gas channel. The formation, growth, and breakup of the droplet is tracked numerically and analyzed. The pressure drop across the droplet is monitored over time and compared with theoretical analysis. The droplet size and shape change over time for two different pore sizes are compared. The impact of various gases including air, helium, and hydrogen on droplet dynamics is presented. The viscous force and pressure force on the droplet and the drag coefficient are calculated.

Simulation-Aided PEM Fuel Cell Design and Performance Evaluation

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junxiao Wu ◽  
Qingyun Liu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Half Cell ◽  
Flow Channels ◽  
Simulation Strategy ◽  
Cell Simulation ◽  
And Performance

A multi-resolution fuel cell simulation strategy has been employed to simulate and evaluate the design and performance of hydrogen PEM fuel cells with different flow channels. A full 3D model is employed for the gas diffusion layer and a 1D+2D model is applied to the catalyst layer. Further, a quasi-1D method is used to model the flow channels. The cathode half-cell simulation was performed for three types of flow channels: serpentine, parallel, and interdigitated. Simulations utilized the same overall operating conditions. Comparisons of results indicate that the interdigitated flow channel is the optimal design under the specified operating conditions.

Effect of Gas Diffusion Layer Surface Wettability Gradient on Water Behavior in a Serpentine Gas Flow Channel of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sneha Malhotra ◽  
Sumana Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Diffusion Layer ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion Layer ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Flow Channel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Surface Wettability ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Water removal and behavior, in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) gas flow channel has been investigated in this work. Single serpentine gas flow channel has been simulated. Hydrodynamics of water drops in a serpentine channel are studied as a function of nature of gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface wettability. In one case, the surface becomes gradually hydrophobic starting from 90 deg to 170 deg. In this second case, the value of contact angle reduces to 10 deg. A three-dimensional model has been developed by using cfd software. Two different drop of diameter 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm are simulated for all the cases. It is observed that, water coverage is always lesser for a gradual hydrophobic surface. Also at low air velocity and gradual hydrophobic GDL surface results in lesser pressure drop as well as water coverage.

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.

Modeling a Two-Phase Control-Oriented Transient Model of a Single PEM Fuel Cell

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinglin He ◽  
Song-Yul Choe
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Transient Model ◽  
Flow Channels ◽  
Water Amount

This paper proposed a 1D non-isothermal control-oriented transient model of PEM fuel cell unit considering the two-phase water dynamics in gas flow channel, gas diffusion layer, catalyst layer and membrane. It is known that the accumulated liquid water in the gas flow channels can block the transport path in the gas diffusion layer for the reactant gases and degrade the performance of the fuel cell, while the proper water amount in the gas flow channels and other layers can help to maintain high proton conductivity in the membrane. The I-V curve and the change of gas concentrations, liquid water amount and temperature at specific operating conditions are obtained by sweeping the current of fuel cell. The voltage, gas concentration, temperature and water dynamic changes are investigated by applying the step change of the load current. The fuel cell performance affected by temperature and water dynamics is studied by the analysis of the simulation result.

3D Modeling of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacheverel Eldrid ◽  
Mehrdad Shahnam ◽  
Michael T. Prinkey ◽  
Zhirui Dong
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Hydrogen Ions ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Diffusion Layers ◽  
Flow Channels ◽  
Porous Anode

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell performance can be optimized and improved by modeling the complex processes that take place in the various components of a fuel cell. Operability over a range of conditions can be assessed using a robust design methodology. Sensitivity analysis can identify critical characteristics in order to guide hardware and softgoods development. A computational model is necessary which captures the critical physical processes taking place within the cell. Such a model must be validated against experimental data before it can be used for product development. A computational model of an experimental PEM fuel cell has been developed. The model is based on the FLUENT CFD solver with the addition of user-defined functions supplied by FLUENT. These functions account for local electrochemical reactions, electrical conduction within diffusion layers and current collectors, mass and heat transfer in the diffusion layers and the flow channels along with binary gas diffusion. The results of this model are compared to experimental data. A PEM fuel cell consists of an ion conducting membrane, anode and cathode catalyst layers, anode and cathode gas diffusion layers, flow channels, and two bipolar plates. Hydrogen and oxygen are supplied to the anode and cathode respectively. As a result of hydrogen oxidation at the anode catalyst layer, hydrogen ions and electrons are produced. The hydrogen ions are conducted through the membrane to the cathode catalyst layer where they combine with oxygen and electrons to produce water and heat. Therefore, a PEM fuel cell model has to take into account: • Fluid flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer in porous anode and cathode diffusion layers; • Electrochemical reactions; • Current transport and potential field in porous anode, cathode, and solid conducting regions. FLUENT Inc. has developed such a model based on their commercially available FLUENT CFD code. This model was exercised on an experimental Plug Power fuel cell. The voltage characteristic of the model was compared to the experimentally measured values. The preliminary comparison between the predicted polarization curve and the experimental results are very favorable.

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