Water distribution and performance variation in a transparent PEMFC with large active area

Water management is a key factor affecting the performance and lifetime of proton ex-change membrane fuel cells. A transparent single fuel cell with an active area of 100 cm2 was designed in this paper to characterize the water distribution. High-strength trans-parent borosilicate glass was used as the end plate to ensure uniform clamping forces, and a water-cooling chamber was adopted for the uniform temperature distribution. The ef-fects of temperature, humidity, flow rate and pressure on the cell performance were investigated. It was found that in a certain range, a large cathode flow resulted in a rela-tively stable power output and a low level of water distribution. However, a better cell performance and higher level of water distribution can be observed with lower tempera-ture, higher operation pressure and higher humidity. The actual voltage was determined by a compensatory calculation through the voltage changes caused by all of the influencing factors, and the compensatory voltages were quite close to each other. The results showed that under 40 degrees C and 60 degrees C, 0 Bar and 1.5 Bar, and 50 RH% and 100 RH%, the compensated voltages were 0.873 V and 0.864 V, 0.869 V and 0.855 V, and 0.843 V and 0.844 V, respectively. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study investigated the effects of temperature, humidity, flow rate, and pressure on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. It found that better cell performance and higher water distribution levels were observed with lower temperature, higher operation pressure, and higher humidity. The compensated voltages were determined to be very close under specific conditions.