Three-dimensional model for stacks of tubular high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells incorporating a thin layer approach for the membrane electrode assembly

A three-dimensional, non-isothermal, steady state model for stacks of tubular high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT PEM FCs) is developed. It is based on a thin layer approach for the membrane-electrode assembly while retaining Butler-Volmer kinetics, concentration and Ohmic losses on both electrodes. It solves for flow, temperature and concentration fields as well as locally resolved current densities for multiple cells. Single cell results for the polarization curve compare well with experimental data for single tubular HT PEM FCs. The model allows for efficient simulations of stacks of multiple tubular HT PEM FCs with a shared air channel in which the interactions between local FC performance and flow, temperature and concentration fields pose a major design challenge. The effects of flow field design, flow rate and cell distance in a stack of 7 tubular cells are investigated and basic approaches for the design of such stacks are derived.