Numerical study on the effect of a novel staggered flow field on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The performance and durability of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are highly influenced by the transport of reactants and water distribution in the cathode flow field. In this study, a novel staggered structure is proposed for the cathode flow field, and the effects of flow field geometric parameters on the transport and distribution characteristics of water and oxygen in the fuel cell are studied by numerical simulation. Two parameters are considered, namely the size of the hole (W) and the number of segments in which the channel is divided equally (L). The simulation results show that compared with the traditional parallel flow field, when W = 0.5 mm, the current density of PEMFC has increased by 11.9%, and the uniformity of oxygen and water concentration distribution inside the fuel cell has been significantly improved. In addition, when W = 0.5 mm and L = 5.56 mm, the fuel cell shows the best performance with 15.8% increase in power density. In this case, the fuel cell shows a more uniform current density distribution. Meanwhile, the staggered flow field reduces the maximum water saturation by 42.5% and without increasing the total pressure drop vs the conventional parallel flow field. Highlights The staggered flow field (SFF) is proposed to improve species concentration distribution. The power density of PEMFC with SFF has increased by 15.8%. The drainage performance of SFF is significantly improved, maximum water saturation of PEMFC is reduced by 42.5%. This new structure does not increase the pressure drop of the cathode channel.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effects of a novel staggered structure for the cathode flow field on the transport and distribution characteristics in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) through numerical simulation. The simulation results show that the new structure significantly improves the performance and uniformity of water distribution in the fuel cells.