A three-dimensional full-cell CFD model used to investigate the effects of different flow channel designs on PEMFC performance

A three-dimensional “full-cell” computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is proposed in this paper to investigate the effects of different flow channel designs on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). The flow channel designs selected in this work include the parallel and serpentine flow channels, single-path and multi-path flow channels, and uniform depth and step-wise depth flow channels. This model is validated by the experiments conducted in the fuel cell center of Yuan Ze University, showing that the present model can investigate the characteristics of flow channel for the PEMFC and assist in the optima designs of flow channels. The effects of different flow channel designs on the PEMFC performance obtained by the model predictions agree well with those obtained by experiments. Based on the simulation results, which are also confirmed by the experimental data, the parallel flow channel with the step-wise depth design significantly promotes the PEMFC performance. However, the performance of PEMFC with the serpentine flow channel is insensitive to these different depth designs. In addition, the distribution characteristics of fuel gases and current density for the PEMFC with different flow channels can be also reasonably captured by the present model.     

Effect of serpentine flow-field designs on performance of PEMFC stacks for micro-CHP systems

Serpentine flow-fields are widely used for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells due to effective water removal. In this study, the effects of serpentine flow-field designs on the performance of a commercial-scale PEM fuel cell stack for micro-CHP (Combined Heat & Power) systems, which use reformed gas as fuel, are investigated by performing both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimental measurements. First, we design four different serpentine flow-fields in which the total channel area (defined as open channel area in this study) of a flow-field plate is altered without changing other design parameters such as the channel cross-sectional area and the channel length. Then, CFD simulations and experimental measurements are performed to assess the performance of each flow-field design. The CFD simulation results show that the current density distributions and average current densities are very insensitive to the open channel area. Thus, the information from the simulations is not sufficient to judge whether the open channel area affects the performance of a PEM fuel cell. On the other hand, the experimental measurements indicate that the performances of four fuel cell stacks, each with one of the four flow-field designs used in the simulations, are considerably different. Increasing the open channel area of a serpentine flow-field improves the performance of the PEM fuel cell up to a certain extent.     

Investigation of bipolar plate geometry on direct methanol fuel cell performance

The effect of bipolar plate (BPP) channel width on the performance of a single-cell direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) stack was investigated. Three BPPs with a single-channel serpentine configuration were fabricated with three different channel widths having the same effective flow areas. Experimental tests showed that the fuel cell with the narrowest channel width had the best overall performance while the one with the widest channel width had the worst overall performance. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed and simulated to investigate and understand the reasons for this change in performance. The CFD simulation showed that in the narrower channel the diffusion of the fuel within the diffusion layer was higher and the fuel distribution was more uniform. However, the pressure drop across the inlet and outlet was higher in the narrower channel, which increased the pumping power requirements.     

Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling of anode-supported planar SOFC

Modeling plays a very important role in the development of fuel cells and fuel cell systems. The aim of this work is to investigate the electrochemical processes of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and to evaluate the performance of the proposed SOFC design. For this aim a three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model has been developed for an anode-supported planar SOFC with corrugated bipolar plates serving as gas channels and current collector. The conservation of mass, momentum, energy and species is solved by using the commercial CFD code FLUENT in the developed model. The add-on FLUENT SOFC module is implemented for modeling the electrochemical reactions, loss mechanisms and related electric parameters throughout the cell. The distributions of temperature, flow velocity, pressure and gaseous (fuel and air) concentrations through the cell structure and gas channels is investigated. The relevant fuel cell variables such as the potential and current distribution over the cell and fuel utilization are calculated and studied. The modeling results indicate that, for the proposed SOFC design, reasonably uniform distributions of current density over the active cell area can be achieved. The geometry of the cathode gas channel has a substantial effect on the oxygen distribution and thus the overall cell performance. Methods for arriving at improved cell designs are discussed.     

Analysis of membraneless fuel cell using laminar flow in a Y-shaped microchannel

In this study, we implemented a theoretical analysis for a novel microfluidic fuel cell that utilizes the occurrence of laminar flows in a Y-shaped microchannel to keep the separation of fuel and oxidant streams without turbulent mixing. The liquid fuel and oxidant streams enter the system at different inlets, and then merge and flow in parallel to one another through the channel between two electrodes without the need of a membrane to separate both streams. A theoretical model containing the flow kinetics, species transport, and electrochemical reactions within the channel and the electrodes is developed with appropriate boundary conditions and solved by a commercial CFD package. The performance of this novel fuel cell is analyzed by a systematic study with respect to some important physical factors and the geometric effect of channel size. Results indicate that the performance is primarily dominated by the mass transport to the electrodes especially at the cathode and could be raised significantly by using a high aspect ratio of cross-sectional geometry.     

CFD investigating the effects of different operating conditions on the performance and the characteristics of a high-temperature PEMFC

The effects of different operating conditions on the performance and the characteristics of a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are investigated using a three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fuel-cell model. This model consists of the thermal-hydraulic equations and the electrochemical equations. Different operating conditions studied in this paper include the inlet gas temperature, system pressure, and inlet gas flow rate, respectively. Corresponding experiments are also carried out to assess the accuracy of this CFD model. Under the different operating conditions, the PEMFC performance curves predicted by the model correspond well with the experimentally measured ones. The performance of PEMFC is improved as the increase in the inlet temperature, system pressure or flow rate, which is precisely captured by the CFD fuel cell model. In addition, the concentration polarization caused by the insufficient supply of fuel gas can be also simulated as the high-temperature PEMFC is operated at the higher current density. Based on the calculation results, the localized thermal-hydraulic characteristics within a PEMFC can be reasonably captured. These characteristics include the fuel gas distribution, temperature variation, liquid water saturation distribution, and membrane conductivity, etc.     

Thermal and electrochemical performance analysis of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell under assembly pressure on gas diffusion layer

In this study, the effect of clamping pressure on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is investigated for three different widths of channel. The deformation of gas diffusion layer (GDL) due to clamping pressure is modeled using a finite element method, and the results are applied as inputs to a CFD model. The CFD analysis is based on finite volume method in non-isothermal condition. Also, a comparison is made between three cases to identify the geometry that has the best performance. The distribution of temperature, current density and mole fraction of oxygen are investigated for the geometry with best performance. The results reveal that by decreasing the width of channel, the performance of PEMFC improves due to increase of flow velocity. Also, it is found that intrusion of GDL into the gas flow channel due to assembly pressure deteriorates the PEMFC performance, while decrease of GDL thickness and GDL porosity have smaller effects. It is shown that assembly pressure has a minor effect on temperature profile in the membrane-catalyst interface at cathode side. Also, assembly pressure has a significant effect on ohmic and concentration losses of PEMFC at high current densities.     

Three-dimensional model of a 50 cm high temperature PEM fuel cell. Study of the flow channel geometry influence

In this work, a three-dimensional half-cell model for a 50 cm² high temperature polyelectrolyte membrane fuel cell (HTPEMFC) has been implemented in a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) application. It was solved for three different flow channel geometries: 4-step serpentine, parallel and pin-type. Each geometry leads to a very well defined current density profile which indicates that current density distribution is directly linked to the way reactants are spread over the electrode surface. The model predicts that parallel flow channels present a significant lower performance probably due to the existence of preferential paths which makes the reactant gases not to be well distributed over the whole electrode surface. This results in lower output current densities when this geometry is used, especially at high oxygen demand conditions. This behavior was also detected by experimental measurement. Serpentine and pin-type flow channels were found to perform very similarly, although slightly higher limit current densities are predicted when using serpentine geometry. Inlet flow rate as well as temperature influence were also studied. The model predicts mass transfer problems and low limit current densities when the fuel cell is fed with small oxygen flow rates, whereas no differences regarding average flow rates are noticed if it is over increased. Better fuel cell performance is predicted while temperature grows as it could be expected.     

Channel geometry optimization using a 2D fuel cell model and its verification for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

This paper studies the optimization method of channel geometries for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) using a genetic algorithm (GA). The channel and rib widths and channel height are selected as geometry variables. The fuel cell output power is chosen as the cost function for the optimization. In this paper, an in-house genetic algorithm is constructed, and the fuel cell output power is obtained using an interfacing program connected to a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, COMSOL, in a Matlab environment. The 2D PEMFC is used to calculate the performance cost function for computational time and cost. The calculated output power of the PEMFC is delivered to the in-house GA program to check for optimality. After the optimality is checked, the new geometry data is fed back to the COMSOL to calculate the PEMFC output power until the optimization process is finished. Experiments are conducted to support the optimized results using three different channel geometries: channel-to-rib width ratios of 0.5:1, 1:1, and 2:1. A full 3D PEMFC CFD model is constructed using COMSOL to support the 2D CFD optimization results. This paper shows the possibility of applying the geometry optimization process to sophisticated electrochemical reaction systems, such as a PEMFC, using a GA and a commercial CFD tool on the Matlab platform. The geometries and materials can be optimized using this approach to obtain the most efficient performance of an electrochemical system.     

Influences of assembly pressure and flow channel size on performances of proton exchange membrane fuel cells based on a multi-model

In this work, assembly pressure and flow channel size on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance are optimized by means of a multi-model. Based on stress-strain data of the SGL-22BB GDL obtained from its initial compression experiments, Young's modulus with different ranges of assembly pressure fits well through modeling. A mechanical model is established to analyze influences of assembly pressure on various gas diffusion layer parameters. Moreover, a CFD calculation model with different assembly pressures, channel width, and channel depth are established to calculate PEMFC performances. Furthermore, a BP neural network model is utilized to explore optimal combination of assembly pressure, channel width and channel depth. Finally, the CFD model is used to validate effect of size optimization on PEMFC performance. Results indicate that gap change of GDL below bipolar ribs is more remarkable than that below channels under action of the assembly pressure, making liquid water easily transported under high porosity, which is conducive to liquid water to the channels, reduces the accumulation of liquid water under the ribs, and enhances water removal in the PEMFC. Affected by the assembly force, change of GDL porosity affects its diffusion rate, permeability and other parameters, which is not conducive to mass transfer in GDL. Optimizing the depth and different dimensions through width of the flow field can effectively compensate for this effect. Therefore, the PEMFC performance can be enhanced through the comprehensive optimization of the assembly force, flow channel width and flow channel depth. The optimal parameter is obtained when assembly pressure, channel width and channel depth are set as 0.6 MPa, 0.8 mm, and 0.8 mm, respectively. The parameter optimization enhances the mass transfer, impedance, and electrochemical characteristics of PEMFC. Besides, it effectively enhances the quality transfer efficiency inside GDL, prevents flooding, and reduces concentration loss and ohmic loss.     

Numerical evaluation of a PEM fuel cell with conventional flow fields adapted to tubular plates

In this research a 3D numerical study on a PEM fuel cell model with tubular plates is presented. The study is focused on the performance evaluation of three flow fields with cylindrical geometry (serpentine, interdigitated and straight channels) in a fuel cell. These designs are proposed not only with the aim to reduce the pressure losses that conventional designs exhibit with rectangular flow fields but also to improve the mass transport processes that take place in the fuel cell cathode. A commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code was used to solve the numerical model. From the numerical solution of the fluid mechanics equations and the electrochemical model of Butler-Volmer different analysis of pressure losses, species concentration, current density, temperature and ionic conductivity were carried out. The results were obtained at the flow channels and the catalyst layers as well as in the gas diffusion layers and the membrane interfaces. Numerical results showed that cylindrical channel configurations reduced the pressure losses in the cell due to the gradual reduction of the angle at the flow path and the twist of the channel, thus facilitating the expulsion of liquid water from the gas diffusion layers and in turn promoting a high oxygen concentration at the triple phase boundary of the catalyst layers. Moreover, numerical results were compared to polarization curves and the literature data reported for similar designs. These results demonstrated that conventional flow field designs applied to conventional tubular plates have some advantages over the rectangular designs, such as uniform pressure and current density distributions among others, therefore they could be considered for fuel cell designs in portable applications.     

Optimization design of slotted-interdigitated channel for stamped thin metal bipolar plate in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The stamped metal bipolar plate is a promising candidate of the traditional graphite plate for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) due to its advantages, such as low cost, compactness, robustness and high production efficiency. This study proposes a new type of flow configuration, which is called slotted-interdigitated channel, for stamped metal bipolar plates. Numerical simulation of the flow distribution of slotted-interdigitated channels is studied by using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the results show the flow distribution is uneven. Consequently, an optimization model, based on a linear analytical model, is proposed to eliminate flow maldistribution. Finally, even flow distribution is obtained according to the optimum results and high fuel cell performance can be achieved.     

Treatment of two-phase flow in cathode gas channel for an improved one-dimensional proton exchange membrane fuel cell model

It has been reported recently that water flooding in the cathode gas channel has significant effects on the characteristics of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A better understanding of this phenomenon with the aid of an accurate model is necessary for improving the water management and performance of fuel cell. However, this phenomenon is often not considered in the previous one-dimensional models where zero or a constant liquid water saturation level is assumed at the interface between gas diffusion layer and gas channel. In view of this, a one-dimensional fuel cell model that includes the effects of two-phase flow in the gas channel is proposed. The liquid water saturation along the cathode gas channel is estimated by adopting Darcy’s law to describe the convective flow of liquid water under various inlet conditions, i.e. air pressure, relative humidity and air stoichiometry. The averaged capillary pressure of gas channel calculated from the liquid water saturation is used as the boundary value at the interface to couple the cathode gas channel model to the membrane electrode assembly model. Through the coupling of the two modeling domains, the water distribution inside the membrane electrode assembly is associated with the inlet conditions. The simulation results, which are verified against experimental data and simulation results from a published computational fluid dynamics model, indicate that the effects of relative humidity and stoichiometry of inlet air are crucial to the overall fuel cell performance. The proposed model gives a more accurate treatment of the water transport in the cathode region, which enables an improved water management through an understanding of the effects of inlet conditions on the fuel cell performance.     

Impact of cathode channel depth on performance of direct methanol fuel cells

The major functions of bipolar plates in fuel cell systems are to transport effectively the reactants and the products to and from the electrodes, and to collect efficiently the current that is generated in the cell. A suitable approach to enhance the performance of the bipolar plate with respect to mass transport is to optimize the channel dimension and shape. In this study, the impact of the cathode channel depth on the performance of direct methanol fuel cells is investigated. When the channel depth of the bipolar plate is decreased from 1.0 to 0.3 mm, the cell performance increases and also remains stable during continuous operation of the cell. The decreased channel depth leads to an increase in the linear velocity of the reactants and products at a given volumetric flow rate that, in turn, facilitates their mass transport. Furthermore, in smaller channels (shallower channels), the pressure drop is increased and this can lead to an increase in partial pressure of the oxygen, which has a positive impact on cell performance. The effect of cathode channel depth on the transport behaviour of reactants and products is studied by means of employing the transparent plates, which are designed to monitor visually the flow of reactants and products in the cathode channels. Additionally, the pressure drop and linear velocity in the cell is calculated by using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique.     

Chaotic flow-based fuel cell built on counter-flow microfluidic network: Predicting the over-limiting current behavior

The membraneless microfluidic fuel cell (MFC) is a promising micro-scale power source with potentially wide applications. MFC commonly relies on the co-laminar microfluidic platform in which redox streams flow in parallel in a microchannel. The nature of this cell architecture limits the mass transport inside the cell, often resulting in low power density. To overcome the issues, we propose an innovative concept of chaotic flow-based fuel cell (CFFC), which is built on a counter-flow microfluidic platform with the flow channel patterned with micro-ridges. A CFD/electrochemical model is used to predict the performance and investigate the underlay mechanism of the CFFC. Two theoretical upper bounds, i.e., the limiting current and limiting fuel conversion for conventional MFC, are derived. Through the results, it is found that the generation of chaotic flow inside the patterned activation zone enables the CFFC to exceed the theoretical limitations and work with over-limiting current for high-power output. Meanwhile, the interfacial mixing and crossover is minimized by the counter-flow microfluidics, allowing for over-limiting fuel conversion to useful electricity output. The achievement of unprecedented operating regime demonstrated in this study open up a new direction towards optimization, operating and design of the MFC.     

Numerical study of assembly pressure effect on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The performance of the fuel cell is affected by many parameters. One of these parameters is assembly pressure that changes the mechanical properties and dimensions of the fuel cell components. Its first duty, however, is to prevent gas or liquid leakage from the cell and it is important for the contact behaviors of fuel cell components. Some leakage and contact problems can occur on the low assembly pressures whereas at high pressures, components of the fuel cell, such as bipolar plates (BPP), gas diffusion layers (GDL), catalyst layers, and membranes, can be damaged. A finite element analysis (FEA) model is developed to predict the deformation effect of assembly pressure on the single channel PEM fuel cell in this study. Deformed fuel cell single channel model is imported to three-dimensional, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model which is developed for simulating proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Using this model, the effect of assembly pressure on fuel cell performance can be calculated. It is found that, when the assembly pressure increases, contact resistance, porosity and thickness of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) decreases. Too much assembly pressure causes GDL to destroy; therefore, the optimal assembly pressure is significant to obtain the highest performance from fuel cell. By using the results of this study, optimum fuel cell design and operating condition parameters can be predicted accordingly.     

Experiment and simulation investigations for effects of flow channel patterns on the PEMFC performance

Experiments and simulations are presented in this paper to investigate the effects of flow channel patterns on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The experiments are conducted in the Fuel Cell Center of Yuan Ze University and the simulations are performed by way of a three‐dimensional full‐cell computational fluid dynamics model. The flow channel patterns adopted in this study include the parallel and serpentine flow channels with the single path of uniform depth and four paths of step‐wise depth, respectively. Experimental measurements show that the performance (i.e. cell voltage) of PEMFC with the serpentine flow channel is superior to that with the parallel flow channel, which is precisely captured by the present simulation model. For the parallel flow channel, different depth patterns of flow channel have a strong influence on the PEMFC performance. However, this effect is insignificant for the serpentine flow channel. In addition, the calculated results obtained by the present model show satisfactory agreement with the experimental data for the PEMFC performance under different flow channel patterns. These validations reveal that this simulation model can supplement the useful and localized information for the PEMFC with confidence, which cannot be obtained from the experimental data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of wetting properties on bubble dynamics and fuel distribution in the flow field of direct methanol fuel cells

We investigate CO₂ bubble dynamics on the anode side of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In contrast to previous studies, we analyse the effect of both channel wall and diffusion layer wettability by observing two-phase flow from the side at different mean velocities of the fuel supply. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic flow channel surfaces are compared experimentally. The hydrophilic flow channel leads to a minimum pressure drop along the channel. Bubbles show virtually no pinning and consequently travel at approximately the mean fuel velocity inside the channel. In contrast to this, we observe bubble pinning in the hydrophobic flow channels. The critical fuel velocities necessary for detachment of the bubbles mainly depends on bubble length. We identify and describe a new bubble bypass configuration where fuel bypass channels are solely generated in a favourable position underneath a blocking bubble along the diffusion layer. This enforces fuel to bypass the CO₂ bubble at a large relative velocity close to the diffusion layer, thus enhancing mass transfer. Our experimental findings are in excellent agreement with a CFD/analytical model. This model allows for quantitative prediction of average bypass flow velocity.     

Numerical study of cell performance and local transport phenomena in PEM fuel cells with various flow channel area ratios

Three-dimensional models of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with parallel and interdigitated flow channel designs were developed including the effects of liquid water formation on the reactant gas transport. The models were used to investigate the effects of the flow channel area ratio and the cathode flow rate on the cell performance and local transport characteristics. The results reveal that at high operating voltages, the cell performance is independent of the flow channel designs and operating parameters, while at low operating voltages, both significantly affect cell performance. For the parallel flow channel design, as the flow channel area ratio increases the cell performance improves because fuel is transported into the diffusion layer and the catalyst layer mainly by diffusion. A larger flow channel area ratio increases the contact area between the fuel and the diffusion layer, which allows more fuel to directly diffuse into the porous layers to participate in the electrochemical reaction which enhances the reaction rates. For the interdigitated flow channel design, the baffle forces more fuel to enter the cell and participate in the electrochemical reaction, so the flow channel area ratio has less effect. Forced convection not only increases the fuel transport rates but also enhances the liquid water removal, thus interdigitated flow channel design has higher performance than the parallel flow channel design. The optimal performance for the interdigitated flow channel design occurs for a flow channel area ratio of 0.4. The cell performance also improves as the cathode flow rate increases. The effects of the flow channel area ratio and the cathode flow rate on cell performance are analyzed based on the local current densities, oxygen flow rates and liquid water concentrations inside the cell.     

A parametric study of methanol crossover in a flowing electrolyte-direct methanol fuel cell

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have significant potential to become a leading technology for energy conversion in a variety of applications. However, problems, such as methanol crossover reduce the efficiency and open circuit voltage of the cells. The novel design of flowing electrolyte-direct methanol fuel cells (FE-DMFCs) addresses this issue. Methanol molecules are effectively removed from the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by the flowing electrolyte, and the unused fuel can be utilized externally.In this paper, a general 3D numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is established to simulate methanol crossover by convection–diffusion in the FE-DMFC. Illustrations of methanol concentration distribution and methanol molar flux densities are presented, and the performance is compared to conventional DMFCs. The results indicate that methanol crossover can be reduced significantly. A parameter study is performed where the influences of anode fuel feed concentration, electrolyte channel thickness and electrolyte volumetric flow rate on methanol crossover are evaluated. In addition, effects of various electrolyte channel orientations are determined. According to the simulations, counter flow is the superior choice of channel orientations to minimize crossover.