Numerical investigation of water droplet behavior in anode channel of a PEM fuel cell with partial blockage

In this paper, water droplet behavior and its removal process in the anode gas flow channel (GFC) of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with partial blockage are numerically investigated using a three-dimensional volume of fluid model. The governing equations are solved using the finite volume method. The effects of the droplet emergence location (alpha), blockage ratio (beta), longitudinal ratio (gamma), contact angle (theta) and current density on the water management characteristics, such as droplet shape, removal time, instantaneous and time-averaged pressure drop and water coverage ratio (WCR), are studied. Researchers have already considered the blocking effect on the PEMFC performance without considering the water droplet movement, but the results of the present study show that blocking the GFC has a significant influence on the behavior of water droplet and water management characteristics. As a result, in some cases, pressure drop fluctuation is increased up to 140% in the anode channel. It is also found that by decreasing alpha and increasing beta and gamma individually, the removal time was decreased and the pressure drop increased. Furthermore, our results showed that blockage in the anode channel has a little effect on WCR.

Automated summary

This study numerically investigated water droplet behavior and removal process in the anode gas flow channel of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with partial blockage. It found that blocking the GFC significantly influences water droplet behavior and water management characteristics, leading to increased pressure drop fluctuations. Adjusting parameters can affect removal time and pressure drop, while blockage has little effect on WCR.