Local transport phenomena and cell performance of PEM fuel cells with various serpentine flow field designs

The flow field design in bipolar plates is very important for improving reactant utilization and liquid water removal in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). A three-dimensional model was used to analyze the effect of the design parameters in the bipolar plates, including the number of flow channel bends, number of serpentine flow channels and the flow channel width ratio, on the cell performance of miniature PEMFCs with the serpentine flow field. The effect of the liquid water formation on the porosities of the porous layers was also taken into account in the model while the complex two-phase flow was neglected. The predictions show that (1) for the single serpentine flow field, the cell performance improves as the number of flow channel bends increases; (2) the single serpentine flow field has better performance than the double and triple serpentine flow fields; (3) the cell performance only improves slowly as the flow channel width increases. The effects of these design parameters on the cell performance were evaluated based on the local oxygen mass flow rates and liquid water distributions in the cells. Analysis of the pressure drops showed that for these miniature PEMFCs, the energy losses due to the pressure drops can be neglected because they are far less than the cell output power.     

Predicting current density distribution of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with different flow field designs

In a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), flow field design is an important factor that influences the distributions of current density and water accumulation. The segmented model developed in prior study is used to investigate the effect of flow field patterns on current density distribution. This model predicts the distributed characteristics of water content in the membrane, relative humidity in the flow channels, and water accumulation in the gas diffusion layers (GDLs).Three single cells with different flow field patterns are designed and fabricated. These three flow field designs are simulated using the segmented model and the predicted results are compared and validated by experimental data. This segmented model can be used to predict the effect of flow field patterns on water and current distributions before they are machined.     

Effects of serpentine flow field with outlet channel contraction on cell performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A serpentine flow field with outlet channels having modified heights or lengths was designed to improve reactant utilization and liquid water removal in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. A three-dimensional full-cell model was developed to analyze the effects of the contraction ratios of height and length on the cell performance. Liquid water formation, that influences the transport phenomena and cell performance, was included in the model. The predictions show that the reductions of the outlet channel flow areas increase the reactant velocities in these regions, which enhance reactant transport, reactant utilization and liquid water removal; therefore, the cell performance is improved compared with the conventional serpentine flow field. The predictions also show that the cell performance is improved by increments in the length of the reduced flow area, besides greater decrements in the outlet flow area. If the power losses due to pressure drops are not considered, the cell performance with the contracted outlet channel flow areas continues to improve as the outlet flow areas are reduced and the lengths of the reduced flow areas are increased. When the pressure losses are also taken into account, the optimal performance is obtained at a height contraction ratio of 0.4 and a length contraction ratio of 0.4 in the present design.     

Effect of clamping pressure on the performance of a PEM fuel cell

Examined were the effects of the clamping pressure on the performance of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The electro-physical properties of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) such as porosity, gas permeability, electrical resistance and thickness were measured using a special-designed test rig under various clamping pressure levels. Correlations for the gas permeability of the GDL were developed in terms of the clamping pressure. In addition, the contact resistance between the GDL and the bipolar (graphite) plate was measured under various clamping pressures. Results showed that at the low clamping pressure levels (e.g. <5 bar) increasing the clamping pressure reduces the interfacial resistance between the bipolar plate and the GDL that enhances the electrochemical performance of a PEM fuel cell. In contrast, at the high clamping pressure levels (e.g. >10 bar), increasing the clamping pressure not only reduces the above Ohmic resistance but also narrows down the diffusion path for mass transfer from gas channels to the catalyst layers. Comprising the above two effects did not promote the power density too much but reduce the mass-transfer limitation for high current density.     

Effects of modified flow field on optimal parameters estimation and cell performance of a PEM fuel cell with the Taguchi method

The study applies a three-dimensional model simulating the transport phenomenon and electrochemical reactions of full scale serpentine channels to determine the best arrangement of cuboid rows at the axis in the anode and cathode channels. With the best arrangement of the cuboid rows in the channels, the Taguchi methodology is used in the experiment to obtain the optimal operating parameters for three objectives with the minimum pressure drops in anode and cathode channels, and maximum electrical power. The results show that the interactions of flow fields between each cuboid and the current collector surface generate less overall deflection effect and force more reactant gases into the catalyst layer to have more uniform current density distributions. The electrical power is 30% greater for the three objectives optimization than for minimum pressure drops optimization and the pressure drops 275% less for the three objectives optimization than for maximum electrical power optimization.     

An inverse geometry design problem for optimization of single serpentine flow field of PEM fuel cell

The cathode flow-field design of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) determines its reactant transport rates to the catalyst layer and removal rates of liquid water from the cell. This study optimizes the cathode flow field for a single serpentine PEM fuel cell with 5 channels using the heights of channels 2–5 as search parameters. This work describes an optimization approach that integrates the simplified conjugated-gradient scheme and a three-dimensional, two-phase, non-isothermal fuel cell model. The proposed optimal serpentine design, which is composed of three tapered channels (channels 2–4) and a final diverging channel (channel 5), increases cell output power by 11.9% over that of a cell with straight channels. These tapered channels enhance main channel flow and sub-rib convection, both increasing the local oxygen transport rate and, hence, local electrical current density. A diverging, final channel is preferred, conversely, to minimize reactant leakage to the outlet. The proposed combined approach is effective in optimizing the cathode flow-field design for a single serpentine PEMFC. The role of sub-rib convection on cell performance is demonstrated.     

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.     

Transient response of PEM fuel cells with parallel and interdigitated flow field designs

Transient characteristics of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells with parallel and interdigitated flow fields upon changes in voltage load were investigated by applying a three-dimensional, two-phase model. Effects of channel to rib width ratios and cathode inlet flow rates on the transient response of PEM fuel cell were examined in detail. Current overshoot and undershoot occur because the time scale for the voltage change is much shorter than for the oxygen concentration changes. Therefore, the oxygen concentrations on the cathode diffusion layer-catalyst layer interface immediately after the voltage changes are essentially the same as before the voltage changes, which results in higher reaction rates causing overshoots when the voltage decreases or lower reaction rates causing undershoots when the voltage increases. The predictions also show that as the voltage decrease rate is reduced, the overshoot peak weakens and the response time shortens. Since the interdigitated flow field has higher oxygen concentrations on the cathode diffusion layer-catalyst layer interface due to the forced convection, the overshoot peaks and the undershoot valleys are all greater than for the parallel flow field. For both flow fields, larger channel to rib width ratios cause larger overshoots, smaller undershoots and longer response times.     

Parallel serpentine-baffle flow field design for water management in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

In a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) water management is one of the critical issues to be addressed. Although the membrane requires humidification for high proton conductivity, water in excess decreases the cell performance by flooding. In this paper an improved strategy for water management in a fuel cell operating with low water content is proposed using a parallel serpentine-baffle flow field plate (PSBFFP) design compared to the parallel serpentine flow field plate (PSFFP). The water management in a fuel cell is closely connected to the temperature control in the fuel cell and gases humidifier. The PSBFFP and the PSFFP were evaluated comparatively under three different humidity conditions and their influence on the PEMFC prototype performance was monitored by determining the current density–voltage and current density–power curves. Under low humidification conditions the PEMFC prototype presented better performance when fitted with the PSBFFP since it retains water in the flow field channels.     

Improved PEM fuel cell performance with hydrophobic catalyst layers

Flooding of catalyst layers is one of the major issues, which effects performance of low temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Rendering catalyst layers hydrophobic one may improve the performance of PEMFC depending on Pt percentage in the catalyst and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) loading on the electrode. In this study, effect of hydrophobicity in catalyst layers on performance has been investigated by comparing performances of membrane electrode assemblies prepared with 48% Pt/C. Ultrasonic coating technique was used to manufacture highly efficient electrodes. Power density at 0.45 V increased by the addition of PTFE, from 0.95 to 1.01 W/cm² with H₂/O₂ feed; while it slightly increased from 0.52 W/cm² to 0.53 W/cm² with H₂/Air feed. Addition of PTFE to catalyst layers while keeping Pt loading constant, enhanced performance providing improved water management. Kinetic activity increased by decreasing Nafion loading from 0.37 mg/cm² to 0.25 mg/cm² while introducing PTFE (0.12 mg/cm²) to the electrode. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results proved that charge transfer resistance decreased with hydrophobic catalyst layers for H₂/O₂ feed. This is attributed to enhanced water management due to PTFE presence.     

Comparison of current distributions in proton exchange membrane fuel cells with interdigitated and serpentine flow fields

Current distributions in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with interdigitated and serpentine flow fields under various operating conditions are measured and compared. The measurement results show that current distributions in PEMFC with interdigitated flow fields are more uniform than those observed in PEMFC with serpentine flow fields at low reactant gas flow rates. Current distributions in PEMFC with interdigitated flow fields are rather uniform under any operating conditions, even with very low gas flow rates, dry gas feeding or over-humidification of reactant gases. Measurement results also show that current distributions for both interdigitated and serpentine flow fields are significantly affected by reactant gas humidification, but their characteristics are different under various humidification conditions, and the results show that interdigitated flow fields have stronger water removal capability than serpentine flow fields. The optimum reactant gas humidification temperature for interdigitated flow fields is higher than that for serpentine flow fields. The performance for interdigitated flow fields is better with over-humidification of reactant gases but it is lower when air is dry or insufficiently humidified than that for serpentine flow fields.     

Systematic study of short circuit activation on the performance of PEM fuel cell

During the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), it always suffers from reversible performance loss caused by the oxidation of platinum catalyst on its electrode, which reduces the electrochemical active surface area. Short circuit method has been found to improve the performance of fuel cells by stripping of oxides and other adsorbed species from platinum, which needs systematical understanding the effective parameters of short circuit method on fuel cell performance. In this paper, the effects of different short circuit activation parameters (duration, interval, cycles, cut-off voltage, operating current) are carefully studied and analyzed during short circuit operations. In addition, the mechanism revealing how relevant parameters influence short circuit activations is deeply analyzed. The results show that five groups of activation parameters have obvious influence on the activation of fuel cell, indicating that the short-circuit activation effect can be optimized. Among these parameters, the short-circuit duration parameter have the greatest impact on activation, because the platinum hydroxides and oxides is gradually removed during short-circuit duration and results in a larger effective surface area of the platinum catalyst for the electrochemical reaction. However, the smallest impact is short-circuit interval. Another finding is that the five activation parameters are not independent, so the optimal activation parameter value needs to be analyzed in combination with the operating conditions. Finally, according to the activation principle, selection of appropriate short circuit activation parameters for application are proposed to further improve performance and fuel utilization by considering the safety of the stack.     

A theoretical study of inlet relative humidity control in PEM fuel cell

In this paper, the individual roles of inlet anode and cathode humidification, and their influences on PEM fuel cell’s electrical performance are discussed systematically by using a pseudo two-dimensional, two-phase PEM fuel cell model. It follows that the maximum power density point of a PEM fuel cell is strongly dependent on the combination of the inlet anode and cathode humidification conditions. Their influences, however, are predicted to be highly asymmetrical, with the anode and cathode humidification mainly affecting ohmic and concentration overpotential, respectively. The physical explanation to this asymmetry is given with the aid of a detailed set of simulation results. Finally, the developed understanding of their influences are employed to formulate two examples on the use of inlet relative humidity control as a simple and effective method for maximizing the volumetric power density and operating range of PEM fuel cell, respectively.     

The conception of in-plate adverse-flow flow field for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

To improve species concentration and current density distribution uniformity of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, an in-plate adverse-flow (IPAF) flow field is developed. Its utility is conceptually examined through three-dimensional numerical simulation comparison between three typical fuel and air flow combinations out of those it can support. Under isothermal condition and constant velocity reactant feeding mode, as the simulation results indicate, there is no significant cell performance improvement by the new flow filed unless in mass transport limited region, while the species concentration and current density distribution uniformities are substantially improved. As data analysis supports, there are two mechanisms in the new flow field that are responsible for the distribution uniformity improvement: the along-channel offset effect and the across-rib transport effect, and their respective pure contributions to the improvement are well discerned.     

Novel serpentine-baffle flow field design for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

An appropriate flow field in the bipolar plates of a fuel cell can effectively enhance the reactant transport rates and liquid water removal efficiency, improving cell performance. This paper proposes a novel serpentine-baffle flow field (SBFF) design to improve the cell performance compared to that for a conventional serpentine flow field (SFF). A three-dimensional model is used to analyze the reactant and product transport and the electrochemical reactions in the cell. The results show that at high operating voltages, the conventional design and the baffled design have the same performance, because the electrochemical rate is low and only a small amount of oxygen is consumed, so the oxygen transport rates for both designs are sufficient to maintain the reaction rates. However, at low operating voltages, the baffled design shows better performance than the conventional design. Analyses of the local transport phenomena in the cell indicate that the baffled design induces larger pressure differences between adjacent flow channels over the entire electrode surface than does the conventional design, enhancing under-rib convection through the electrode porous layer. The under-rib convection increases the mass transport rates of the reactants and products to and from the catalyst layer and reduces the amount of liquid water trapped in the porous electrode. The baffled design increases the limiting current density and improves the cell performance relative to conventional design.     

Optimizing the relative humidity to improve the stability of a proton exchange membrane by segmented fuel cell technology

The segmented fuel cell technology was applied to investigate the effects of the humidification conditions on the internal locally resolved performance and the stability of the fuel cell system. It was found at certain operating conditions, the time-dependent oscillation of current at potentio-static state appeared. The appearance of positive spikes of current indicated a temporary improved performance, while the negative current spikes indicated a temporary decreased performance. The periodic build-up and removal of liquid water in the cell caused unstable cell performance. Through the analyses of the evolution of the locally resolved current density distributions, the reasons for the positive or the negative spikes of current peaks with respect to a stationary value were found, which might be due to the drying-out of the membrane or the flooding of the membrane. The contour of the current density mapping differed to each other at the period of current peaks up or down, which might be due to different effect of the drying-out or flooding on the membrane. Through optimizing the relative humidity of anode (RHa) or cathode (RHc) of the fuel cell, the oscillation of the current disappeared and the performance of the cell became stable. RHc affects the performance of fuel cell much more obviously than RHa. The stability of the fuel cell system is also dependent on the imposed voltage. With the cell voltage decreased, the amplitude and the frequency of positive spikes of current increased.     

Nature inspired flow field designs for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Nature inspired flow field designs for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a relatively recent development in the technology evolution. These novel designs have the potential to show dramatic performance improvements by effective distribution of reactant gases without water flooding. Optimization of a flow field requires balancing gas distribution, water management, electron transport, pressure drop and manufacturing simplicity. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation studies are a useful tool for evaluating nature inspired flow field designs; however, the predictions should be used with caution until validated by an experimental study. Nature inspired flow field designs can be generated using formal mathematical algorithms or by making heuristic modifications to existing natural structures. This paper reviews the current state of nature inspired PEMFC flow field designs and discusses the challenges in evaluating these designs.     

A novel approach on the determination of the minimal operating efficiency of a PEM fuel cell

In this article, a novel mathematical approach is proposed to determine the minimal proton exchange membrane fuel cell efficiency below which it is not recommended to operate the fuel cell. The objective of this proposal is to minimize the annual fuel cost and the electricity cost of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell since both terms are efficiency dependent. A new concept developed in this article might be used as a valuable mathematical tool to determine the minimal efficiency required to operate a fuel cell in a reasonable fashion in order to make the fuel cell system technically and economically feasible. Two dimensionless mathematical criteria J₁ and J₂ were proposed for the annual fuel cost and electricity cost, respectively. A minimum fuel cell efficiency of was obtained with J₁ and J₂ values of 2.7 and 0.026, respectively.