A pore-scale model for the cathode electrode of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell by lattice Boltzmann method

A pore-scale model based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is proposed for the cathode electrode of a PEM fuel cell with heterogeneous and anisotropic porous gas diffusion layer (GDL) and interdigitated flow field. An active approach is implemented to model multi-component transport in GDL, which leads to enhanced accuracy, especially at higher activation over-potentials. The core of the paper is the implementation of an electrochemical reaction with an active approach in a multi-component lattice Boltzmann model for the first time. After model validation, the capability of the presented model is demonstrated through a parametric study. Effects of activation over-potential, pressure differential between inlet and outlet gas channels, land width to channel width ratio, and channel width are investigated. The results show the significant influence of GDL microstructure on the oxygen distribution and current density profile.