Numerical simulation of the PEM fuel cell performance enhancement by various blockage arrangement of the cathode serpentine gas flow channel outlets/inlets

In this paper, performance enhancement of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells by changing the outlet/inlet configuration of parallel-serpentine flow field is investigated. The geometrical changes of the channel outlets/inlets are designed to amplify the effects of transverse over-rib convection in the gas diffusion and catalyst layers. A three-dimensional and two-phase simulation of the fuel cell performance with four flow fields of parallel-serpentine, serpentine-baffled, serpentine-interdigitated and serpentine-stepped channel is conducted and the results are presented in the form of polarization curves, contours of velocity, oxygen concentration, liquid water saturation, local current density, and the dissolved water content. The results show that the liquid saturation volume coverage is reduced from 0.832 for the parallel-serpentine flow field to 0.514 for the serpentine-baffled flow field. Also, the regions with high concentration of oxygen was improved by 26.7% between these two cases. Due to the increase in oxygen delivery to the catalyst layer and better water removal on the cathode side, the serpentine-baffled, serpentine-interdigitated, and serpentine-stepped flow channel geometries showed a significant increase in performance compared to the parallel-serpentine case. The highest net power has resulted for the serpentine-baffled case so that at a current density of 1.5 A/cm(2), a performance increase of 38.5% was achieved compared to the parallel-serpentine case. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the performance enhancement of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells by changing the outlet/inlet configuration of parallel-serpentine flow field. The results show that geometric changes in the channel outlets/inlets can amplify the effects of transverse over-rib convection, leading to improved oxygen concentration and liquid water saturation. The findings suggest that the serpentine-baffled configuration yields the highest net power, achieving a performance increase of 38.5% compared to the parallel-serpentine case. This study provides insights for optimizing fuel cell design and performance.