Cell and stack-level study of steady-state and transient behaviour of temperature uniformity of open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The steady-state temperature uniformity and thermal transients of open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) at cell and stack level are researched experimentally in this study. The local temperatures are obtained by 30 thermocouples contacting the surfaces of cathode gas diffusion layers (GDL). The s temperature homogeneity under different load currents and air flow rates are investigated. The results reveal that the fluctuation of temperature distribution under different currents is small under the lowest air flow rate set in the experiments. Comparatively, the temperature is less uniform when the load current is higher under other air flow rates. The evaluation indicator, temperature uniformity index (TUI), varies nearly linearly with the current. And the maximum variation is 55.6% to 59.0%. This distinct behaviour is probably related to the existence of liquid water and its nonuniform distribution which can enlarge the temperature difference at high current. With respect to thermal transients, there is rapid deterioration in temperature uniformity when the load current is stepped up. It may arise from the uneven liquid water distribution which can lead to different temperature variation rates. Further, the research gives direction for optimization of cooling strategy and thermal management of open-cathode PEMFC stack in application.