CFD Simulation and Performance Investigation on a Novel Bionic Spider-Web-Type Flow Field for PEM Fuel Cells

The products generated by the electrochemical reaction in the PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) are mainly concentrated in the flow field on the cathode side of the bipolar plate, and the oxygen introduced on the cathode has higher requirements to improve its diffusion performance by using the flow field structure. For this reason, the optimization of the cathode flow field of the PEMFC is essential. Inspired by the structure of a spider web, this paper proposes a novel spider-web-type flow field. In this kind of flow field, the shape of a polygonal structure and the number of layers of spiral flow channels are the two most crucial variables. In order to explore the impact of these two variables on the cathode flow field, complete three-dimensional PEMFC models with different values of the two variables were established, and the models were simulated by the method of CFD. By observing the results of oxygen distribution, the water removal performance and fuel cell output performance of different schemes, the optimal scheme of the polygonal structure and layer number are determined. Compared with the traditional flow field, it is proved that the optimization scheme is desirable in improving the performance of the cathode flow field in PEMFC.

Automated summary

This study proposed a novel spider-web-type flow field for optimizing the cathode flow field of PEMFC. By exploring the impact of polygonal structure and layer number, the optimal scheme was determined to improve performance. The results confirmed the desirability of the optimization scheme in enhancing the cathode flow field performance in PEMFC when compared to the traditional flow field.