Effect of Design and Operating Parameters on the Performance of Planar and Ducted Cathode Structures of an Air-Breathing PEM Fuel Cell

Abstract

In this study, the effect of operating parameters such as cell orientation and ambient temperature with three different types of planar and ducted cathode designs of air-breathing fuel cells (ABFCs) is investigated. Membrane electrode assemblies with varied (10, 30, 40 and 50 %) hydrophobisation on cathode side and 10 % hydrophobisation on anode side are fabricated. The paper throws light on the performance of fuel cell with varied hydrophobisation on cathode side of the fuel cell. It is found that vertical channel orientation is the best orientation for an ABFC to operate due to its higher performance in both ducted and planar cathode designs. Also, based on the results, it can be concluded that the ambient temperature has a significant effect on the performance of an ABFC.