Journal
ENERGY
Volume 133, Issue -, Pages 306-316Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.139
Keywords
PEM fuel cell; Flow distributors; Tree-like pattern; Entropy generation
Categories
Funding
- SEP-PROMEP program (Mexico) [UGTO-PTC-412, UGTO-PTC-524, UGTO-PTC-565]
- National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT, Mexico) under the SNI program
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This paper presents a three-dimensional numerical modeling of a PEM fuel cell with tree-like flow field channels. Four different tree-like configurations are considered for the study based on a statistical analysis of the veins of the leaves of different trees. The number of bifurcations of the vein and their inclination are considered as parameters for the characterization. Four different configurations are the most recurrent, corresponding to one level of bifurcation at 37 degrees and 74 degrees and two levels of bifurcation at 37 degrees and 74 degrees. The model considers a complete solution of the mass, momentum, energy, and electro-chemical equations. An entropy generation analysis is developed as a post processing once the solution of the models is obtained. Because new geometries for the channel configuration in the bipolar plates are introduced, special attention is considered for the entropy generation due to mass flow. Results indicate that the configuration with two levels of bifurcation at 37 degrees is efficient at removing water from the cathode channels, resulting in a good current density production. In addition, a better performance of the PEM fuel cell (higher current density production and lower entropy production) is obtained by increasing the number of bifurcations. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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