Comparison of Maxwell-Stefan and CFD Approximation Equations for PEMFC Applications

Abstract

This work examines the accuracy of using the approximated multi-component (AMC) with a correction term as used in common Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques. This comparison is important because the structure of CFD programs does not permit the direct use of the more commonly used Maxwell-Stefan form of multicomponent equations. A comparison of species concentration in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) computed by using the Maxwell-Stefan and the corrected AMC models is presented. It is shown that the corrected form of the AMC model can produce accurate results as compared to the Maxwell-Stefan model.